


holding to each other (from a great distance)

by warriorSQ22



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, I mean the guy did get obliterated in 5x22 so it's only fair, Regina's in a bit of mourning, THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SHORT STORY, Um hook also proposes?? I'M SORRYYYY, also cs is a thing for a bit but I basically point out their faults so...., also my brain doesn't comprehend writing short stories....., but basically as a plot device, but worry not my lovelies, elements of groundhog day, hook is also here, hope y'all like it, mentions hood too, protostar challenge fic, split queen is also here for a bit, supernova season was so tough on a lowly undeserving author like me, swan queen is endgame, yeah idk what I was thinking tbh, yeah it shouldn't be overwhelming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2018-12-21 04:58:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 28,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11936799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warriorSQ22/pseuds/warriorSQ22
Summary: After returning magic to the world and stopping Gold in NYC, Emma and Regina return with their family to quaint Storybrooke to try to resume their lives.The Queen's presence in Storybrooke is soon discovered and it leaves Regina with an odd sense of foreboding as she goes undetected.A week later Emma and Regina wake up to the events of the day they returned repeating itself over and over. It's up to them to solve this mystery and return everything to normal but that might prove to be a little more difficult when they're separated from each other by some strange magic that only allows them to see each other through a mirror in the hallway of Regina's mansion.Knowing the Queen wasn't really killed, they're immediately suspicious of her intentions as true love couples suddenly start getting isolated from each other all over Storybrooke.It's a race against time when a new curse that threatens to take away a person's free will is set to be cast over the city and also destroy every last trace of true love.Set after the events of 5x22 when Regina splits herself from the Evil Queen.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).
  * Inspired by [like planets [fanart]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11888550) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account). 



> This fic did not come to me as easily as I imagined it would. I toyed with this for so many hours and honestly, I just hope I've done the amazing art piece for this protostar challenge some justice because I truly loved it. 
> 
> Thanks go out to Emma, my sounding board for plots, my unwavering believer, my amazing friend, for always being there when I need her. I think I fairly drained you this supernova season, oops. Oh well, gotta prepare for next season Em! ;)

Emma curls her hands tightly around her drink, idly focusing on how the condensation pools against her fingers and drains down towards the counter of the table top she's been sitting at for the past two hours. Darkness had already settled in outside, the noises from the sprawling city of New York a constant reminder that they weren't in Storybrooke anymore. It's such a contrast, something Emma had missed sorely in her first few years in the deceptively quaint magical town in Maine. But now she finds herself longing for it, longing for those days and the monotone of it all in particular.

 

But she abruptly tucks that thought away, doesn't let her mind venture into it.

 

They'd just face down Gold, got magic back to the world and their entire family back safe and sound from another realm.

 

It's something that should fill Emma with glee, but she can't even begin to describe the depressive thoughts curling in her mind as she quantifies the losses they've suffered. Particularly now as she obsessively observes the blatant difference in how Regina carries herself.

 

This latest misadventure had taken a lengthy time to deal with. And before they'd all known it, it had been exactly a month since the death and burial of Robin Hood - something Emma wasn't sure how or why she remembered. Regina was likely still in mourning. Emma couldn't forget the look that crossed her face when tracking Henry and Violet had led them to Neal's apartment and she'd found an old letter from Hood addressed to her. It had sent Regina spiraling into an abyss of self-loathing. And Emma just couldn't have that.

 

"Don't you see that just means that your happy ending is still somewhere out there?" She'd said when it looked like Regina was going to start openly crying at that letter.

 

Regina had looked up at her with those sad dark eyes and such a melancholic smile and said. "There is no happy ending for me, Emma."

 

"I don't believe that." Emma'd fiercely rebutted, shakily curling a hand over Regina's. 

 

Regina had chuckled mirthlessly and shook her head, curling her fingers through Emma's. "Well here's your proof." She shook the letter, almost tearing into it with the force of her frustration. "Everyone I get close to _dies_." 

 

Hood was someone Emma never truly accepted into the fold. She couldn't shake the distrust she'd amassed against him ever since he just showed up during that missing year when she and Henry were cursed to Boston with no purpose other than constantly shadowing Regina.

 

And then they'd been told the pixie dust story. Which all sounded way too ridiculous for Emma to even take seriously. But apparently Regina did. 

 

Emma had quietly observed him after that. For a soulmate, she thought he seemed too flaky with his affections, especially when a copy of his wife had arrived in the form of Zelena.

 

And that entire messy situation that led him to choosing Marian/Zelena and having a kid with her, only to then grovel back to Regina when the truth was exposed. But by then the damage had already been done, and yet...Regina took him back. That had made Emma's dislike for him grow in waves.

 

The only thing he really had going for him was the fact that his son was adorable and Emma couldn't exactly bring herself to mess with what Regina had deemed as her own happy ending.

 

It had filled her with a sort of depressing sadness she couldn't exactly wrap her mind around. And now that _he_ was no longer present, Emma wasn't ashamed to say that she didn’t miss him one bit. She appreciated his sacrifice, realizing that they could have lost Regina had Hood's flaky nature out-won his sense of morality.

 

Hood's last letter had Regina admitting that she would never be at peace with herself wondering if she should become the Evil Queen again because she felt cursed she would never find redemption. She'd admitted to realizing that the more good that she does, the more people she loses.

 

Emma had gone oddly silent at that admission, especially when Regina had looked so defeated. And now, sitting at this bar looking at Regina practically unfurling at the edges, she feels entirely helpless about the entire situation.

 

That conflict about the Evil Queen had led to an impulsive decision when Snow had presented Regina with the rest of the serum Dr Jekyll had given to her. Because Regina had admitted that she couldn't deal with that internal battle raging within her any longer. She's suffered too much, lost too much, and that little bit of happiness that Emma can begrudgingly admit that Robin had provided if only minutely, was suddenly gone too.

 

Regina was different now. Way different than the Mayor Emma met a few years ago. The regal strut, the poise, the composure of the Queen suddenly gone due to the split they'd witnessed an hour ago on a random rooftop in New York City.

 

She sits with her shoulders a little hunched forward, her eyes fixated at some point on the surface of the table they were seated at in some random bar in the city as she loses herself within her thoughts.

 

And her face -- _oh_ her face.

 

Emma had always found Regina's face to be so expressive, especially those dark eyes. She could shut everyone and everything out with just a twist to her lips or an arch to her brow, guarding her feelings like a well-kept secret. It was unnerving. But as Emma looks at her now, Regina was no longer a mystery. She's an open book, visibly shaken, confused and anxious especially if the way she keeps wringing her fingers tightly together is anything to go by.

 

Getting rid of the Queen had taken a lot away from her and they’d been walking on eggshells with her all evening, determined not to send her spiraling into the abyss of guilt she was no doubt teetering on the edge of.

 

The split had been something so surreal to witness, especially with the way that inky serum Snow had injected into Regina's arm had driven her to near hysteria. And Emma had had to grit her own teeth and clench her fists to visibly restrain herself from magicking the stupid thing away, serum be damned.

 

Regina had wanted it, had expressed the horrors of being so conflicted within her own mind. But bearing witness to the pain Regina had endured of literally tearing herself in two distinctive halves had shaken Emma.

 

The Queen had goaded Regina in response, heckled her, jabbing at every weak spot she could exploit with the finesse of her intimate knowledge. It had given her power over Regina and Emma had had enough of it.

 

 _Regina, now's your chance, destroy her._ She'd said those words when Regina had seemed immovable, frozen to the spot as she stared at what she'd dubbed her own personal monster.

 

Regina had held the Queen's gaze then, unwavering, but _pained_ and Emma had heard her apologize before crushing the heart of the Queen, her own heart, to dust. Emma's mind was just morbid enough to think that that act alone had taken committing suicide to the next level.

 

Regina had made this sacrifice for herself, but mostly for them....for the family they'd created. A family she now held so closely to her heart that Emma knew she could never truly let them go.

 

It was Regina's decision. But that didn't mean it was a good one. Emma understood on an intimate level the allure of the darkness and how it beckoned during her brief phase as the dark one. She understood those conflicting feelings that had Regina trapped within that cycle of good and evil she'd described to Emma. Emma was amazed at her resilience, her resistance to it, her determination to fight it. To _do_ good. To _be_ good. That took an insane amount of courage and Emma admired the strong woman Regina had become.

 

But was throwing away parts of yourself you deemed unworthy really the way to deal with one's darkness?

 

Emma doesn't have the answer. That's why the split with the Queen had left her uncomfortable. Watching Regina lose herself within her own internal despair, the steel wall of her façade removed exposing her vulnerabilities to all who gaze upon her makes her feel all the more useless.

 

So a few hours earlier, Emma, Regina and Snow had piled into the nearest pub in the city, sending the rest of the guys back home. A couple of shots later, Snow had taken the reins of the conversation seamlessly and they'd both let her, knowing the woman could carry on full blown conversations on her own.

 

Sitting here watching Regina practically fold in on herself, nursing the now empty glass of some fancy expensive fruity drink she barely cares to remember and watching her sink into despair, Emma wants to _do_ something. To help somehow. She'd thought that they were at least fine -- Regina had said she was, and they'd all accepted it. Emma knows for a fact that she isn't.

 

Snow didn't seem to notice the sullen mood of her present company, downing her own drinks with such gusto that it had Emma a bit concerned for her usually mild mannered mother. She'd eventually gotten up to use the restroom and without her as a buffer, the mood had immediately dampened.

 

Emma however, had had enough. Amidst the pulsing of music and the gyrating of sweaty bodies, she was glad they had taken the table at the furthest point from any point of activity. Steeling herself, she reaches out ever so slowly, not daring to pause and rethink her actions as she places a hand on the one Regina has gripping her glass like a lifeline.

 

Even though she was sitting right next to Emma, Regina startles. And as dark guilt stricken eyes met hers, Emma's heart practically quivers in her chest.

 

"Hey, are you okay?" She asks, having to practically shout the question over the loud obnoxious music.

 

Regina smiles, tight and pained and nods mutely, swallowing the remnants of her drink and placing the glass back on the table. Emma mentally berates herself for the stupid question.

 

"I'm fine." Regina verbalizes her reply when Emma keeps staring and Emma just raises an unimpressed eyebrow, especially when a really silly grin steals across the woman's face. She sighs a second later, scooting just a bit closer and leaning over to speak directly into Emma’s ear.

 

"Are _you_ okay?" Regina asks softly, and Emma grunts in reply, nodding back quickly as she returns her hands to her lap. Emma’s suddenly a bit fidgety at Regina’s close proximity as her mind obsessively compares the handful of times they’ve ever truly been this close to each other. She squashes that train of thought immediately and twists her body so she’s facing Regina.

 

"You're deflecting." Emma says, even though she was guilty of doing the same exact thing. She’d had a fight with Hook on the way back that had made her yearn for some time away from him and she had jumped at the chance to send him ahead with David and Henry. They were here for Regina, giving her a reprieve from Storybrooke and magic but if Emma was being honest, she suggested the idea a little selfishly. "How are _you_ feeling?"

 

"Honestly?" Regina asks. Emma nods. "I have no idea."

 

"Must be weird." Emma comments dryly.

 

"Indeed." Regina laughs, sharp and stiff and picks up Emma's drink this time, the half empty beer bottle that she’d grimaced at when Emma had insisted they all have something lighter rather than chugging back shot after shot. “At first I felt…free, like this heavy oppressing weight had lifted. But—” Regina eyes the remainder of the amber coloured liquid before downing the rest of it in one gulp. Emma raises an eyebrow, especially when Regina's hand visibly shakes as she places the bottle back down, a grimace stealing across her face.

 

"Tastes better when it’s colder." Emma offers unhelpfully.

 

"I can't imagine why you'd possibly think that." Regina says, this time picking up the remains of Snow's equally fruity drink. "Gods, I don't think I've ever tasted something more vile."

 

"Oookayy, now I'm cutting you off." Emma says, making a grand show as she takes Snow's glass from Regina's hands and places it on the other side of their table.

 

Regina glares. But, this time Emma can't help but notice the difference. It has no bite to it, no overpowering strength. Nothing that sends a shiver of anticipation for a weighty confrontation down Emma's spine. It's as intimidating as a puppy’s and gone a second later and Emma can't exactly process why that makes her sad. Or what must be going on inside Regina’s mind.

 

Regina blinks sluggishly, sways a little in her seat and chuckles dryly a second later. "I think you're right." She says quietly, and Emma doesn't even have the heart to heckle her about that statement. She'd never once, in their tentative friendship, admitted that Emma was right, about anything.

 

A silence falls between them then, and Emma fishes her buzzing phone from her pocket and notices a message from the WhatsApp group Henry had created a few months back titled "Moms".

 

Henry and David had been roped into some secret mission which Killian wasn’t open to sharing with Emma after he had practically stormed out on her during their little spat for all to see right in front of the Bethesda fountain. That was a few minutes after they’d been portaled into New York City from the land of untold stories. She had made certain that mission didn't involve her underage kid being introduced to the woes of alcohol. Regina had been a little out of it when she'd agreed that Henry could go, but Emma knew that if she only smelt a drop of alcohol on him, she'd be eviscerated, regardless of the lack of Evil Queen behind it.

 

 _Staying at gramps tonight_ the text reads, and Emma shoots him a quick reply of compliance after showing the message to Regina. The brunette agrees, a little slur to her words now that Emma notices. She frowns, not liking the fact that Regina would be alone in that big mansion on her own, and clearly intoxicated. Usually Regina could drink her under a bus and still remain as prim and proper as ever. But now, after a couple of shots and mixed drinks, she was just so out of it. It just doesn't sit right with Emma, not after tonight, not after the way Regina was slowly drowning in her own guilt.

 

 _I'll be at the mansion_ she types, getting an immediate response from Henry that he'd pass on the message to Hook. She stiffens a little, realizing she hadn't even thought about her own house or her own plans with her boyfriend.

 

Things between them were more than a little strained ever since the whole dark one soul sacrificing thing and the hell rescuing fiasco. He’d been goading her into making them a permanent fixture for a while now and that was what their earlier spat was about. Little by little he was slowly integrating himself into her house, leaving some of his little trinkets and jackets, and dropping not so subtle hints about him moving in that had Emma bristling and avoiding the topic like the plague whenever it came up in conversation.

 

It was a big step to take, and the fact that she was so apprehensive about it spoke volumes even as the guilt about it gnawed at her. He was constantly bombarding her, whether it be with words of proclamations of love, his happy ending or this pressure of moving in and Emma was so frustrated with herself and him that she’d demanded some time to herself. She was a lot better about reciprocating now, but still reserved with her words of affection.

 

“Did I ever tell you that I love you?”

 

Emma's head jerks up abruptly from her phone, startled at the words that leave Regina's mouth.

 

"Whoa, someone's a little drunk." She chuckles, ignoring the way her heart flips at the words.

 

Regina fixes her with such a serious look then, one so concentrated that Emma has trouble really believing she was tipsy.

 

"No, I mean it." She says quietly, reaching out and curling her fingers into Emma's on top of the table. Emma forces herself not to jump and shy away from the touch but she fails miserably. Regina doesn’t seem deterred. She just shakes her head and repeats herself. "I love you."

 

Emma can't explain it but the minute those words spill from Regina's lips they wrap around her heart like a cool protective balm. It's insane how she's immediately emotional over it, like maybe she's a little drunk too.

 

She smiles, feels it wobble a little and ducks her head in embarrassment when her vision blurs and the damning tears slide down her cheek. Regina smiles, soft and dreamlike and drapes an arm over her shoulder as she pulls her into a side hug.

 

It's with a startled revelation that Emma feels the same words burning against her own tongue, threatening to spill out. But she curls an arm around Regina’s waist in response, squeezes her just a little tighter as she closes her eyes and calmly breathes.

 

This is how Snow finds them when she returns from the restroom a questionable amount of time later, snuggled into each other with tears on their cheeks. She doesn't ask anything, just picks up their bags, hands them their jackets, and they all leave.

 

* * *

 

Regina sluggishly raises her head from its perch on Snow's shoulder as she’s shaken into consciousness. She blinks up owlishly at the woman as Snow’s soft mothering whispers lets her know that they were in the back of her Mercedes.

 

“We’ve just crossed the townline.” Snow says and a shiver immediately washes over Regina’s entire body, something that tingles at the base of her neck and down her arms and she sits up jerkily. It's a little bit unsettling, especially with the way that she could swear that Snow's eyes glow a bit strangely.

 

She blinks heavily as Snow places a gentle palm against her cheek.

 

"She's really out of it." Snow comments as if Regina wasn't looking directly at her. She frowns, tries to jerk her head out of Snow’s hands but fails miserably when the woman just pulls her back into her arms. It’s a tad bit humiliating, but Regina can’t for the life of her even will herself to care right now as her eyes flutter shut.

 

"I know." Emma replies, sounding so far away that Regina has to strain to hear her voice. “I’m staying with her tonight."

 

The rest of their conversation plays off in the background of Regina’s sluggish mind and she internally berates herself for getting this intoxicated.

 

She’s helped to her room and into something a little more comfortable by Snow and vaguely remembers telling them both she didn’t need any babysitters before sleep claims her.

 

* * *

 

Regina awakens to the scent of a literal feast wafting up from her kitchen. Her eyes flutter open groggily as she rises on the bed and grimaces at the pain that lances through her forehead.

 

“Morning mom, Emma said to give you these when you’re finally up.” Henry says as he comes bumbling into her room. He walks on over to the side of her bed and drops two Advil and a glass of water into her palms.

 

“Goodmorning.” She smiles at her son, grateful for the Sheriff’s forethought as she takes the pills and downs it. “What’s going on in my kitchen?” She asks, handing the glass back to Henry.

 

He grins at her, a little mischievous twinkle to his eyes as he helps her up. “Ma’s making breakfast.”

 

And that’s still a little new to her -- Emma inviting herself over without invitation. It had started a few months back, curiously around the same time that Henry had started calling her mom and Emma ma. It’s a sweet little distinction that she’s oddly thankful for as she brushes a hand through her intuitive little boy’s hair and presses a kiss against his forehead -- well, not so little since she didn’t have to bend to reach his forehead anymore.

 

He scrunches up his face at the show of affection but takes her hand and carefully leads her down the stairs and into the kitchen.

 

And she comes face to face with the back of Emma Swan, who was clearly wearing one of her frilly aprons and expertly moving around her kitchen as she hums a strange tune. It’s truly a sight to behold, one that stuns her with its novelty as she makes her way over to the stove and sighs blissfully as the scent of apple pancakes and omelets hits her.

 

“Never took you for the cooking type.” She drawls idly and Emma jumps when she finally notices how close Regina is to her back and practically stumbles as she shifts away.

 

Emma gives a tight little laugh, pressing a palm over her chest as she removes the earbuds from her ears.

 

“ _Jesus_ , you scared me.”

 

“I am no God, Miss Swan. But I can see why you’d think that.” Regina smirks and Emma rolls her eyes. “But you’re deflecting from the real question, your cooking abilities.”

 

Emma smiles, it’s one that alights her eyes as she reaches over to the kitchen island. It’s only then that Regina notices three plates with fluffy pancakes topped off with strawberries as Emma sticks a fork into one and tears off a piece.

 

“Taste it before you drag it.” Emma says and Regina eyes the pancake wryly.

 

Henry chuckles as he sits himself on a stool at the kitchen island. “Go on mom, it’ll surprise you.”

 

“If I die my will is in the vault Henry dear. This house and everything I own belongs to you.” Regina says dramatically and Emma huffs and places the fork back down on the plate.

 

“You don’t deserve my pancakes.” Emma mutters sullenly as Henry laughs and fist pumps over his eventual inheritance perks. Regina takes a small step towards the Sheriff who automatically takes a step back. It’s a bit unnerving -- something she’d notice Emma doing often lately. Even when they’d been in that apartment in New York where she’d found Robin’s last letter to her and Emma had tried to reassure her that she was good.

 

She reaches over, purposefully making sure that her hand crosses the one Emma’s still got perched on the counter as she takes the fork with the piece of pancake stuck to it. Emma’s eyes intriguingly follow her actions as she brings it closer to her face, twisting it at every angle to take in its consistency and finally to her nose for a curiously sensual scent test as she allows her eyes to flutter shut. It smells like apples, just like Emma said and she begrudgingly opens her eyes.

 

“Goddamn Regina just freaking eat it.” Emma grumbles petulantly and Regina allows a small smile to tug at the corner of her lips as she pops the piece of pancake into her mouth.

 

It’s warm and curiously flavored, that rich apple taste melting in her mouth telling her that it was a far cry from being artificial and she moans a little when that apple cinnamon syrup it had been dipped in at the end bursts across her tongue. She licks her lips, catching Emma’s eyes as her stomach grumbles approvingly. Emma nervously bites down on her own lip in response and her own eyes can't help but follow. She clears her throat a little, focusing on the task at hand. The recipe was definitely familiar but she can detect the twist to it and she wonders how Emma had gotten her hands on it.

 

“Where did you learn how to cook like that?” She asks a little breathlessly and Emma ducks her head, a shy little flush dusting across her cheeks as she turns back towards the stove and coyly shrugs a shoulder.

 

“Those memories I could never quite express the magnitude of thankful I am that you gifted to me during the missing year.” She mutters, a little embarrassed as Regina raises an eyebrow. “And obviously I added in the cinnamon part. I hope that’s okay?”

 

“Oh…” And Regina halts a little as those dark green eyes vulnerably hold hers. “It’s quite the improvement.” She says and Emma’s blinding smile shouldn’t have her stomach in absolutely contented whirls like it does. She abruptly clears her throat and glances over at their son who’s already halfway through his stack of pancakes, a messy swatch of syrup dripping down his chin.

 

“I swear you’d think I never raised you on my own for ten years when you eat just like your mother.” Regina grumbles, taking the stool next to Henry and reaching forward to wipe the excess syrup off of his chin.

 

He grins and Emma brings over the omelets to them which he immediately shuffles over to add to his plate. Regina shakes her head as Emma laughs and slides over her plated pancakes.

 

“Ma’s the bottomless pit.” Henry protests, shoving literally an entire half of the giant omelette into his mouth.

 

“Clearly you’ve inherited the trait.”

 

Emma laughs and Regina raises an eyebrow as she pours them all glasses of orange juice.

 

“Hey you going to that party thing this evening?” Emma asks from her perch on the other side of the kitchen island. Regina hums, perching herself back on the stool and glancing over at the blonde who had curiously sat herself too far away.

 

Regina had gotten so used to just having Emma at her side whenever they did breakfast like this that she's a bit startled at the sudden change.

 

But she shakes off the stray thought to consider her question for a bit. The residents of Storybrooke practically threw a party every time a disaster was averted and this time was no different.

 

It's something that had become a bit of a tradition and Regina debates whether or not she could skip it. Henry is also against it apparently, protesting the need for a party which Regina vehemently agrees with but finds oddly suspicious coming from him.

 

“Come on mom.” He says as he digs into another of Emma’s fluffy pancake creations. “We always hang out there. What are we going to do? Sit and stare at the same people all night?”

 

“As much as I agree with you, Snow has requested our presence and you know how she gets about these events.”

 

Henry rolls his eyes, curling his fingers around his glass of orange juice. “I guess I can reschedule with Violet.”

 

“Violet.” Regina raises an eyebrow, still not used to hearing Henry speak so openly about his girlfriend. “Wouldn’t you just see her tonight?”

 

Henry rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “We had something planned.”

 

“Oh the stargazing thing.” Emma wiggles her brows obnoxiously, talking around a mouthful of pancakes. Regina shoots her a mildly disapproving look to which Emma just sticks her tongue out at her and then proceeds to down her entire glass of juice.

 

“I think it’s a lovely idea.” Regina says softly as she takes a delicate bite of her own pancakes, sighing in absolute bliss as her eyes catch Emma’s. Emma’s eyes linger just a tad bit too long on her as she takes another bite and suddenly Regina’s face burns and she has the odd urge to look away.

 

“Yeah I’ve coordinated the constellations that’ll be directly over Storybrooke when we finally get to have our outdoor date.” Henry says and they both turn to observe the light blush that covers their son’s cheeks.

 

Emma chuckles.  “Romance for nerds.”

 

“It isn’t nerdy.” Henry protests. And as he lifts his juice to his lips he loses his smile so suddenly that Regina’s back to being concerned. “But I’m just not in the mood to be at the diner tonight.” His gaze shifts to Emma. “Hook called for you by the way.”

 

Emma loses her smile so swiftly that Regina can’t believe the mood in the kitchen has just done a complete one eighty.

 

“Thanks kid.” She grunts, picking at the remnants of her pancakes now with a tight press to her lips.

 

And as if announcing Emma’s other obligations, her phone begins to buzz on the counter top, eliciting glares from the three kitchen occupants.

 

Emma sighs heavily and picks it up. No sooner had she swiped her thumb across the pad to answer the call had an annoyed “ _Where the bloody hell are you?!_ ” blasted through her phone.

 

Emma grimaces. “You know where I am. Henry told you last night.” And her eyes shift over to Regina and Henry as she chucks a thumb over her shoulder indicating she’d take the phone call out in the hall.

 

It still doesn’t help the fact that Regina and Henry hear every word. Hook was insisting that usually by now she was at work and he had arrived there and didn’t see her and Emma...Emma was actually _apologizing_.

 

Regina sticks her fork into her own pancake stack and savagely tears into it, her stomach suddenly rebelling as she hears _the lovely couple_ having a spat on the phone.

 

That had been frequent lately. She remembers the fight they’d had just yesterday. The way they’d snarled at each other over who the hell knows what.

 

Regina wasn’t listening. She was still trying to justify her own reasons for her split with the Queen. She had yet to think up a valid argument that totally justified her own actions to herself. Except, she hadn’t had a moment's reprieve since the ordeal and it was clear that her family was concerned about her. So that made it a bit more difficult for her to accurately pinpoint the exact emotions she was feeling over it.

 

But guilt - oh that one came in waves. The Queen was dead and it was all Regina’s doing.

 

It was better like this. Better for Storybrooke. Better for their family...

 

“I told you I’ll be there I -- no, I’m in the middle of something, I’m not going to poof on over at the -- oh wow that’s real mature.” Emma’s voice cuts into her introspective thoughts and Regina glances up just as she sees Henry’s fist clench against his fork.

 

She reaches over and touches his clenched fist and it unfurls easily against hers as she takes his hand and his worried eyes find hers. She shares the sentiment, obviously as her own eyes shift over to observe the tensed form of Emma pacing in the hallway.

 

The conversation doesn’t go on long. Emma’s voice rises a couple octaves and suddenly cuts off when the line goes dead. She remains out in the hall, staring at the device, her back towards them and Regina shifts a little uneasily when she turns suddenly, phone clenched tightly in her hands.

 

“I guess I’ll see you guys later.” Emma says as she comes back into the room, a little twist to her lips that she was trying to pass off as a smile.

 

“Are you sure?” Regina feels the need to ask. To give Emma a choice in this matter.

 

Emma laughs, sharp and a little strained and just nods meekly. She magics her leather jacket and jeans on along with her boots that she frowns disapprovingly at.

 

“Ah, sorry didn’t think that last one through. I’ll just make those dirty tracks vanish from off the rug.” And before Regina can protest, Emma pats Henry on the arm and immediately turns on her heel, taking off for the front door.

 

“Ma!” Henry calls and he rushes on over towards her. Regina follows them, heart aching and drawn to them both as Henry, their intuitive son, pulls Emma into a hug which she seems to gratefully sink into.

 

“I’m okay kid, really.” She sighs heavily against his temple, dropping a brief kiss there as she shakily holds onto him.

 

“Thanks for picking me up at the loft this morning.” Henry says and Emma pulls away with a more genuine smile then and affectionately pats Henry on the cheek before her eyes flit on over towards Regina.

 

Regina clears her throat a little and reaches out, tentatively brushing a hand along Emma’s shoulder. And she fuzzily remembers a genuinely slurred _I love you_ from the day before that her face curiously burns at, especially when Emma stills as their eyes meet. Regina almost can’t take the aching sadness they display. It confuses her and she offers a wan smile.

 

“Want me to drop off lunch at the station?” She asks. It’s something they’d continued doing quite a few months back. Emma had started it when the Chernabog was wreaking havoc on Storybrooke and Regina hadn’t questioned it when she’d continued doing it. Instead, she’d curiously followed along and this was actually the first time she was voicing bringing Emma lunch.

 

Emma tilts her head and smiles so beautifully Regina’s breath catches in her throat.

 

“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.” She says and Regina doesn’t have a witty retort to that as Emma pats her on the hand she’s still got clutching Emma’s arm like a lifeline and suddenly she’s gone in a curl of white smoke.

 

* * *

 

Zelena comes by her office just as she’s scheduled to take her lunch break, a little later than she’d intended, baby Robyn asleep in her stroller.

 

“Good, you’re still here. I need to talk to you.” She says, magicking a seat right in front of Regina’s desk.

 

Regina sighs heavily, lifting her tired eyes from the files clutched a little too tightly in her hands. She'd spent the entire morning stuck in fiscal budget meetings and re-discussing if the town covered accidental property destruction due to magic being sucked out of Storybrooke in a whirlwind by Gold’s shard of the olympian crystal or that unstable portal Zelena had created with the Apprentice's wand.

 

Her sister had done it to return Merida and the Camelot residents to their homes (and also sent the Merry Men back to the Sherwood Forest for Roland to grow up there) just in case magic had gotten destroyed.

 

But the portal had dragged Zelena, Snow, David, and Hook into it because of the magic tied to the crystal and placed them in the land of untold stories that they’d been rescued from the day before. The portal, though messy, was all done in good conscience -- Zelena was trying to change, but Regina resented the fact that she now had to deal with the mess left behind.

 

Everything had managed to work itself out and Regina was grateful for her sister’s plan -- especially where Roland was concerned. It eased some of the guilt she carried in her heart about his father sacrificing himself for her and leaving him an orphan. Tracking Gold down in the huge sprawling cities had taken quite some time and by the time everything was resolved, Regina realized startlingly the day before that it had already been a solid month since Robin had died.

 

The Mills sisters had both suffered huge losses with that recent blow to Storybrooke. A pixiedust approved soulmate and the Queen for Regina and a twisted true love for Zelena.

 

“Did you hear me?” Zelena asks a little irritably, her eerily green eyes focusing on Regina with such seriousness she immediately sits up a little straighter. Zelena’s eyes soften a bit as they’d begun doing lately and she reaches out tentatively, placing her hand on Regina’s. “You’re thinking about Robin again, aren’t you?” She says quietly.

 

And Regina pulls her hand away. Her emotions where Robin was concerned were too frayed around the edges. Too jumbled and fraught with guilt for her to really be able to sort them out now. So she clears her throat abruptly, her eyes falling softly on her sleeping niece as she asks Zelena. “What do you want?”

 

Zelena pulls her hand away and Regina feels a little saddened by the tension their interactions were fraught with. Her niece was a curious reminder of how Zelena had betrayed her and Regina tries to summon that rage that had flickered to life within her at Zelena’s pregnancy with her soulmate. But it was no longer there, gone in the face of her tiny helpless niece with her already fiery looking red hair, so like her mother.

 

And she doesn’t want to analyze exactly why that was.

 

“Regina, we’ve got another crisis on our hands.” Is  _so_ not what she needed Zelena to say. Her eyes find Zelena’s and her sister folds her arms.

 

“What do you mean?” She asks a little too sharply. “We literally just ended a month’s long one yesterday.”

 

“The Queen paid me a visit.” Zelena says and Regina’s eyes widen considerably as her fists clench upon her desk. “Or at least, that’s who I’m sure she is, since the Charmings verified that you were apparently too drunk to function last night and she was very much coherent.”

 

“The Queen.” Regina repeats a little dubiously. “I don’t understand. I crushed her heart. I watched her die.”

 

“Yeah well she survived.” Zelena grimaces. “And she’s not too jolly that you threw her away.”

 

Regina abruptly stands from her desk then, moving over to the floor length window recently installed in her office.

 

“How the hell did she survive?” She asks quietly.

 

“No idea. But she was being all obnoxious about some new curse she’s cooking up and --”

 

“A new curse?!”

 

“-- practically asked me and my daughter to join her side.”

 

“Zelena what the hell?!” Regina hisses. “When did this happen?”

 

“Last night.”

 

“Why didn’t you call me?!”

 

“I _thought_ she was YOU! Excuse me for not being in the exclusive group who knew you ripped yourself in two like that nutjob Dr Jekyll. I’ve met his other half in the land of untold stories by the way and let me tell you, he’s off his rocker.”

 

Regina blanches a little at her wording but doesn't let it deter her from snapping at Zelena. “Well clearly she isn’t me! And I would have told you...eventually.”

 

Zelena scoffs challengingly folding her arms. “Oh yes she is you, had me fooled until she mentioned that revenge thing on the town and I know you’ve gone too soft for that.”

 

Regina groans and frustratedly runs a hand through her hair. “What the hell are we supposed to do?”

 

“Track her down obviously. She’s you, where would you hide if you were in town and planning to destroy it?”

 

Regina plops down heavily into her chair again, trying to wrap her brain around this new development. “I don’t know.” She growls. “I can barely even think properly right now.”

 

Zelena hums, throwing a glance towards the clock as she stands up and takes ahold of her daughter’s stroller. “Get your Sheriff on the job.”

 

At the mention of Emma, Regina’s eyes immediately find the clock and she practically blanches when she notices that three quarter of her lunch hour was already gone. And Emma was expecting lunch.

 

Her phone was oddly silent and she checks it for any messages that Emma may have sent to her. The woman was notorious for being an obnoxious pain where her stomach was concerned and Regina’s a little bit anxious at her empty message box.

 

She stands up abruptly, gathering her purse and shoving her wallet into it.

 

“That’s exactly what I plan on doing.” She says determinedly. “I trust that you can show yourself out?”

 

Zelena delivers a playfully mocking glare that melds into an actual grin as she strolls out of the office.

 

“Hope I didn’t make you too late for your lunch date with your wife.” She throwsflippantly over her shoulder with a wink and a too knowing smile that makes Regina's face color. Zelena's deep obnoxious cackling fills the corridor and Regina's too late to reply as she disappears in a swirl of green.

 

* * *

 

Regina forgoes driving her Mercedes and instead poofs on over to the diner. She startles Ruby at the counter who clutches her chest dramatically and gives her a dry look.

 

"I could have morphed and killed you ya know." Ruby grumbles.

 

Regina scoffs. "I'm well aware that you can only do that around a full moon."

 

"What do you think tonight is?" Ruby grins wolfishly and Regina's eyes narrow as the young werewolf cheekily hands over her usual packaged order for her and the Sheriff.

 

She simply raises an eyebrow, pays for the items and magics herself outside the door of the Sheriff's station with the paper bags cradled in her arms. She’s just about to turn the lock when her head jerks up at the sound of a heated argument between Emma and her pirate. She’s not exactly proud of it, but she leans a bit away from the window so she can still see a bit into the room as she listens in on part of the conversation.

 

“ -- deserve alone time together. You barely do anything here.” Hook practically hisses and Emma just rolls her eyes.

 

“What about this huge stack of paperwork on my desk looks like barely doing anything?”

 

Hooks eyes narrow. “I just thought I’d pay you a visit, but you seem to be a little on the hostile side probably because _her majesty_ didn’t bother to show up as well.”

 

"Wait, did you come here just to one up Regina?" Emma asks testily, shoving Hook’s arm from off of her shoulder as he hovers over her where she’s sitting behind her desk.

 

Regina stiffens at the use of her name and her fists clench against the paper bags cradled in her hands.

  
  
Hook rolls his eyes, twirls a lock of her hair and steps around to the side of her chair. "How else was I supposed to stake my claim over you?"

  
  
"Stake your -- I'm not some goddamn _property_.” Emma hisses, standing up to point a finger against his leather clad chest. “I'm a _person_."

  
  
"Who spends way too much time fixated on her son's other mother.” Hook grumbles in response and Emma scoffs. Regina growls but can't even summon the will to march on over and intervene. Normally she would have had to prevent herself from losing her temper and poofing in to give the pirate a piece of her mind. She sags a little at the thought but is quickly pulled out of it when Hook growls at Emma.

 

"You made me into the Dark One even after I told you to let me go." And there it was, that famous line he loves using on Emma. Regina's blood boils as Emma sags a little in her seat, curling her nails into her palms. It had taken them a fair amount of time and drunken confessions, but Emma had admitted that the guilt of that always shook her to the core, the fact that she'd been so completely blindsided by her attachment to him that she'd done something unthinkable. Of course it was wrong, she had went against his wishes, stolen his agency, but it was also wrong how he held that over her to keep her submissive. "You came to hell for me and I came back for you but now..."

 

"What?" Emma asks sharply. A little too sharply. Hook glares at her, bangs his fist on the table.

 

"Now you're..." Hook scoffs. "More like always been." He mutters to himself. “You know it's amazing you two haven't done anything yet, what with the level of eye fucking on a daily basis."

  
  
And Regina falters with that, especially at Emma’s unconvincing feeble rebuttal. "W-What?! We do _not_ \--"

 

Well it was true, they'd never truly gotten to that part, but there was also the fact that that drunken confession of Emma's had came when they'd returned from the underworld without Hook. Regina was trying to be a good friend. One who realized belatedly that comforting Emma and simultaneously drowning her own feelings for the woman in alcohol just wasn't the best combination. It had led to them having their first genuine hug, a novelty which Regina's brain just couldn't let go of and she'd pushed it with a lingering kiss at the corner of Emma's mouth. That had led to them making out on Regina's couch for long hours and falling asleep there curled up in each other's arms. Regina was distraught at herself the very next day and they'd curiously avoided mentioning it at all.

 

A week later Robin was dead, Hook was suddenly back and Regina had convinced herself that karma had come to bite her in the ass since everyone she gets close to dies.

  
  
"Save it Swan, what the bloody hell am I supposed to think any way? You keep avoiding me at every turn you get. You hardly even tell me that you love me and simply explode when I leave a jacket on your couch. I have no idea where we’re actually going with this. Do you even want this as much as I do?”

  
"I-I do I just--"

  
  
“Then I suggest you sort out what that actually means to you. If you even love me at all."

 

“Killian.” Emma says and she embraces him. Regina’s blood boils at how meek and soft her voice comes out. She doesn’t hear Emma’s next few words, clearly whispered into his ear. And her heart hurts at just how acutely she longs for the past

 

"I know." Hook says as whatever the words were makes him soften just a bit. "I'm just tired of coming in second place to your family with her."

  
  
"You're not in second place." Emma says and Regina stops listening altogether. Her blood’s boiling and she’s raging internally and knows it’s quite uncharacteristic for her to keep it all locked up inside like this.

 

She poofs herself back to her office and sets the paper bag on fire in the waste basket. She only puts it out when it’s burnt to an unrecognizable crisp and she gets a relief from her thoughts when her secretary comes barrelling in to remind her of her next meeting in a few minutes.

 

* * *

 

After Emma placates Hook, he leaves, a curious bounce to his step as he informs her that he’ll be on his ship preparing for _a very special evening_. It’s only then that she remembers the _Another Disaster Averted: Storybrooke Extravaganza_ and she groans, hating the fact that they’d sent her a special invitation since she’d ditched their last few parties.

 

She sighs heavily and shucks her paperwork aside almost jumping out of her skin when the station’s phone suddenly rings.

 

“Hello?” She answers gruffly and listens in carefully as one of the residents complains about the young neverland boys running amok down by the docks. She rolls her eyes but carefully assures them that she’d be headed out on patrol and almost sighs in relief when David comes bumbling in a few minutes late for his shift.

 

“Hey, had to find a last minute replacement for Neal’s babysitter.”

 

“I’m just happy you’re here.” She says, shifting from the chair as he drapes his own jacket over the back of it. “You deal with that while I go on patrol a bit before heading home.”

 

David whines a little, especially when he notices the giant stack of paperwork. Emma chuckles.

 

“Your mother says to remind you to not be late for the party this evening because it’ll and I quote ‘look bad on us royals’.”

 

Emma groans as David shrugs sheepishly. “Tell mom to chill, I’ll be there.” She grumbles as she slips her jacket on.

 

“You know how she gets when things don’t go her way.” David reminds gently, opening the first file and grimacing down at it. She shakes her head, sharing the sentiment.

 

“Fine, I won’t be late.” She says as her father’s eyes settle back on her.

 

“Good.” 

 

* * *

 

 

There’s no one really at the docks by the time Emma gets there and she turns the cruiser around to head back into town. Cruising along the too silent roads gives her way too much time to think and she glances at her silent phone and realizes belatedly that she really didn't hear from Regina since that morning. Her stomach growls in reproach and she berates herself for being too on edge to eat when Hook had stormed into her office with his version of lunch - ‘pirate styled’. Apparently it was supposed to be a way to ease into the conversation about him wanting to be a deputy but the minute it had come tumbling out of his mouth Emma had reacted defensively and downright said no.

 

That had angered him and he'd pointed out that she worked with her father all the time but Emma couldn't help but fight with him over the issue, insisting that their budget wouldn't allow it. That wasn't the problem - working in close quarters with her boyfriend was almost a sure fire way to drive her insane and she’d glanced at the slop he'd called lunch and couldn't even believe that her appetite had fled.

 

Of course he didn't like that.

 

He'd then proceeded to call her out on having feelings for Regina. That had startled her and she'd denied it immediately, feeling her stomach twist as the false words fell from her lips.

 

It wasn't true. Of course it wasn't. She'd only realized for a short time now just how ridiculously enamored she'd become where Regina was concerned and had yet to truly assess the depth of it. And Emma's brain likes torturing her with scenarios that involve an endless repetition of those drunken kisses. Without the liquor. 

 

It was scary how he had seen right through her.

 

She'd been gifted with Hook again. He'd come back, for her, practically defying death and all logic...something she kept having to remind herself as she'd repeatedly dodged his presence and made excuses when he wanted to spend time together.

 

Her thoughts and the cruiser almost screeches to a halt when the corner of her eyes catches a shadowy figure taking off through the trees, running at an unnatural speed.

 

She immediately pulls the cruiser over and jumps out of the car, covering the distance towards the treeline and sprinting after the figure.

 

Her target notices her straight away and he doubles his speed if possible. Emma grunts but takes off at her personal best, cursing herself for her ridiculous indulgence in all of those bear claws and grilled cheeses as her pride takes a hit at the ease with which she's being outrun.

 

The man's thick black coat bellows out at his sides, a satchel and a book clutched tightly to his chest as he turns to look at her briefly and Emma _swears_ his eyes glow a bit red. His distinct features are unidentifiable from her angle and distance away but all she catches is an angular shaped faced and a square jaw and she _knows_ she's never seen this man before.

 

“Hey you! Stop right there!” She shouts breathlessly. The man completely ignores her, taking a sharp turn to the right that leads them off of the clearly cut path and between knotted roots and fallen trees.

 

Emma groans, legs pumping as she gives chase, and she grits her teeth just as the man takes a sharp left and disappears around a corner of closely packed trees. It's only then that she remembers her magic and grins to herself, closing her eyes and twirling her hands in the air.

 

A sharp cry rings out from where the man had just disappeared and Emma slows down considerably, carefully making her way towards him. She comes face to face with his entire body suspended in the air by the branches she made capture him and grimaces at her over enthusiastic catch.

 

Still cautious, she pulls out her revolver from the holster at her side and points it at the assailant, carefully unfurling the lone bulky branch covering his face and promptly startles at the sight of Dr Jekyll.

 

“What the hell are you doing out here?” She growls, immediately suspicious of his shifty eyed stare.

 

“S-Sheriff Swan.” He stutters, squirming under her intense glare. “My apologies. I thought you were someone else.”

 

“Who else could I be?” She asks testily. “You make it a habit to meet shady people out in the woods a lot Doctor?"

 

“N-Not at all! I was merely collecting some samples of rare medicinal herbs in the forest and thought I saw something in the distance. I gave chase but it had disappeared just as I heard a growl behind me.”

 

Emma's eyes narrow, but her lie detector doesn't ping once at his words. It's unnerving, his body language is all squirmy and shifty and the characteristics of lying are all there but her superpower doesn't seem to register it.

 

“I’m sure you at least heard my voice back there.” She begrudgingly lowers her gun, not making a move to untangle the man. “Why did you run?”

 

“I…” He trails off suddenly, head jerking to the right where the sound of twigs snapping sounds oddly loud this far out into the forest.

 

Emma bristles but cautiously implores him to stop talking.

 

She follows the direction of the noise, avoiding the fallen twigs as she moves behind the trees. Out of his sight, she closes her eyes and summons her magic, combing the rest of the forest in less than a minute. Her magic spreads out from her hands in waves of white light but it doesn't detect anything amiss. She gives another cursory glance around at her surroundings before she palms it off as an animal and she moves back into view of the doctor.

 

“No one but us here now, doc.”

 

She raises an eyebrow when the man sags bonelessly within the binds of the branches and twirls a finger so that he's safely placed on the ground.

 

“Thank you, Sheriff.“ He says gratefully, shuffling over to collect his fallen satchel filled with various plants and a book that had been sent sprawling into a muddy puddle when Emma had caught him.

 

That makes her feel a bit guilty.

 

“Let's get back into town. I'll give you a ride.”

 

* * *

 

“We've known each other for a while now, Swan. And I think it's time for us to take the next step.”

 

There's a tiny squeal from Snow as Hook lowers himself onto one knee before her and Emma feels her heart pounding loudly in her ears as a hush descends upon the rest of the guests at the diner.

 

She stares down at him, now understanding why he'd goaded her into wearing that white dress she'd worn on their first date instead of her usual jeans and leather jacket. She'd figured he had something romantic planned, maybe a moonlight serenade on his ship. And so she'd decided to put in some effort, styled her hair in a high ponytail and actually put on a fair amount of make up.

 

She'd been drinking at the bar with Ruby, sulking over the fact that she hadn't heard Regina all day. All of her texts and calls were suddenly going unanswered and she was seriously worried. David had come and taken her over to the dart board to distract her. She'd actually been having an okay time throwing darts with David when Hook had tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention and then proceed to throw Emma's whole world off-balance. 

 

Truthfully, she doesn't even hear what he says but when he raises the ring to her with that smug expectant look, she clams up.

 

Her gaze flits on over to her parents who are both emotional saps who don't seem surprised in the least. David smiles at her but it's the hopeful look on Snow’s face that does her in more than anything else.

 

Her eyes sweep the diner for any sign of Regina or their son and an odd pang of disappointment hangs heavy on her heart as she looks back down at Hook.

 

She smiles a bit wobbly, but nods shakily and soon the ring's on her finger and she's being scooped up into Hook's arms and kissed. 

 

"I hope you like it, your lad picked it out for you." He whispers and Emma finally allows herself to look at her ring for the first time.

 

A round of applause and hoots and hollers ring out around the diner as David announces that drinks are on him.

 

Emma immediately extricates herself from his embrace, making her way to the bar amidst the congratulations and well wishing. She smiles and thanks them all and gets herself just tipsy enough to handle the situation without feeling like she wants to crawl out of her own skin when Snow comes over to gush and talk about how she's been planning Emma's wedding since after the first curse broke.

 

Emma blanches -- that's a long time ago. And she stares into Snow's hopeful smiling face and can't seem to breathe properly as that overwhelming feeling to please her parents, to not be a disappointment to them and their legacy washes over her.

 

Snow's ranting about wedding dresses and center pieces and wedding locations and gushing about true love and Emma just listens halfheartedly as she downs shot after shot on her still too empty stomach.

 

Snow doesn't even need her to carry on the conversation so Emma doesn't even notice when she gets up to take a drink with Ruby and Dorothy and gush some more with them.

 

What feels like an hour later, a hand lands on Emma's shoulder. She twists to see her son and he pulls her up into a hug that she gratefully sinks into.

 

“Congratulations Ma, I'm glad you're happy.” Henry whispers against her ear and Emma wants to sob as she clings to him but hates that his words settle over her like condemnation.

 

He pulls back and glances over at his grandparents when David calls him over and Emma now notices Regina at his side. She’s not dressed like the Mayor or her usual. Instead, she looks a bit softer. Her hair was curled and her makeup was simple complementing the elegantly styled lavender dress that so distractedly clung to her curves. She smiles, disarmingly so and Emma's quivering heart practically leaps in her chest.

 

“I'm sorry about ruining our lunch today.” Regina says and Emma immediately reaches out to touch her, the alcohol in her system bolstering her confidence.

 

“You'll just have to make it up to me.” She says coyly, taking one of Regina's hands in hers as they stand there among all of Storybrooke practically packed into the diner.

 

An odd look passes over Regina’s face and her eyes linger on their intertwined hands and Emma's eyes drop to their hands too and her faces flushes at the engagement band glittering proudly there. Emma can feel it burning a hole against her skin.

 

"Hook proposed." She says, just a tad bit shaky, as if now registering Regina’s confusion. Her voice is strained even to her own ears and the silent gasp Regina gives just about manages to sum up her own feelings on the matter.

 

The smile Regina then gives in response seems forced, strained at the edges and even in this almost drunken stupor, Emma can identify it.

 

"Well." Regina says, eyes catching Emma's. "I'd say congratulations are in order." And suddenly she's being pulled into arms that curve around her waist and settle on the small of her back. It's awkward at first, Emma's brain choosing to focus compare the falseness of this hug to genuine of their first instead of returning the hug. It's just a tensed brushing of bodies that Emma curiously holds her breath for. It ends a second later (too soon) and then Ruby's congratulating her and pulling her into another hug.

 

"I'm your maid of honour right?" Ruby says, a wolfish grin tugging at the corner of her lips.

 

And Emma smiles, that strained smile, small and tight around the edges that she feels becoming the only one her face can form.

 

"Of course, you're not just Snow’s best friend, you’re mine too."

 

She catches brown eyes over Ruby's shoulder just in time to see Zelena pulling Regina towards the front doors of the diner and her heart aches and feels like it's coiling tightly in her chest. Regina drops her gaze and Emma can breathe again and immediately makes her way over to Hook, takes his flask and downs several gulps from the enchanted never ending supply of potent rum.

 

A hook around her arm stops her. "Save some for the rest of us, love." Killian says, a hearty laugh slipping past his lips as some men at the bar join in.

 

He takes the flask and pockets it, the arm draped around Emma slipping even lower on her waist as he breathes into her ear. "What's say we have a little engagement party of our own?"

 

Emma's stomach fiercely rebels at the innuendo to his words and his tone.

 

But she smiles, because it's expected right? And she kisses him, the rum on her breath barely a contest for the rum on his, but she barrels on until they get several hoots and hollers and some crude jokes about waiting till the honeymoon night.

 

That last one makes Emma pull away altogether.

 

But she stays there with him, hanging off of his arm and being the doting fiancé. She doesn’t allow herself to think about the fights they’ve had just because he’d only suggested moving in, and now they were engaged and Emma really doesn’t want to think about any of this.

 

A few more hours pass in the company of the Storybrooke people and Emma probably gets a glimpse or two of Regina before she doesn't see her in the diner anymore.

 

It's oddly depressing and Henry alone seems to notice her sullen mood. He sticks by her side for a while, making small talk with Hook and the rest of his crew until he checks the time and practically bolts up from his seat. He then presses a kiss to her cheek to inform her that he was leaving to meet up with Violet.

 

Her parents seem to be the entertainment for the evening as David maintains a winning streak at a pool table they'd installed at the back just for the event and Snow keeps coming over to discuss wedding details while simultaneously keeping an eye on Neal as his cute chubby face and pronounced dimples garners him a couple of fans. He gets repeatedly passed around from one hand to another and Emma's grateful every time Snow has to get up and go check on him, giving her a reprieve from her overwhelming excitement.

 

Emma keeps ordering shots and doesn’t stop until she’s almost falling off of her seat, Hook’s arm catching her at the last second as he pulls her into his embrace, a possessive hold that he hasn’t let up since she’d sat down. She tries to soak in the happiness of the atmosphere but fails miserably as the hours float by in a haze to her befuddled mind.

 

Some time later, the buzz of a text message gets her attention and she pulls out her phone.

 

Regina’s name pops up along with her message _I need to speak with you as soon as possible._ That’s it. That's  all it says. Short, cryptic and to the point. And Emma muses over the fact that the woman absolutely refused to butcher the English language even over a text.

 

Killian reads it over her shoulder.

 

“Her majesty beckons.” He sneers the moniker with so much derision that Emma recoils, and immediately hates herself for how timid she becomes in the face of his aggression. "Wasn't she just in here? What, you two can't speak like normal folk?"

 

Emma immediately feels a migraine coming on. "That's unfair."

 

"No, what's unfair is how I constantly am left to feel like you're always running after her."

 

"Killian, she's family." She tries to placate him, only it doesn’t work. He's clearly intoxicated and he slams his hook, obnoxiously loud and grating against the table and catches the attention of almost everyone in the diner. Emma ducks her head in embarrassment when Snow and David catch her eye from over by the bar.

 

" _She’s family._ ” Hook mocks. “Am I some how lesser?"

 

"No." She shakes her head, hating that they're having yet another repeat of this conversation where she has to assure him. “You’re not.”

 

“Say that convincingly the next time you actually want me to believe you. Isn’t our happy ending supposed to be about us?”

 

“It is.”

 

“All I know is that Regina calls and you run.” Hook says, haphazardly flinging the bills he fishes out of his pocket onto the table. "I'll be on my ship."

 

Emma grabs for his arm. “Come on, don’t be that way.”

 

“Well come with me.” He insists, holding a hand out to her, and Emma panics and under the direct observation of everyone at the dine she can't even make eye contact with him.

 

She disappears in a whirl of white just as he's about to pull her to his body.

 

* * *

 

Emma had had every intention of going home – (not to her empty home where Hook would most likely invite himself, but  home to her parent's tiny loft.)

 

However, her alcohol induced brain lands her in the woods, a street over from Mifflin but totally on the opposite side of town she was aiming for.

 

She sways, hand grasping at a tree as the magic in her body rolls unsteadily along with her alcohol filled stomach and she grimaces, taking deep breaths that don't make her feel as dizzy.

 

And in a daring move - she braves the short walk to 108 Mifflin.

 

The house is dark as she approaches, almost tripping over her own two feet as she stumbles as quickly as she can past the hedges and up onto the front porch. She grips the door frame rigidly, pounding excessively on the door as the rain begins to drizzle.

 

“Miss Swan, what the hell? It’s two a.m.” Is how Regina answers the door what feels to Emma like half an hour later but may have actually been a few minutes. The sky is dark and there are equally dark lines beneath Regina eyes and her usual immaculate hair is ruffled along with her silky blue pyjamas.

 

Emma blinks. She really didn’t think about the time when she impulsively decided to visit Regina. A part of Emma thinks that maybe she is a downright idiot, especially because of the way Regina curls in on herself when Emma takes a step towards her. She stills, alcohol making her movements slightly sluggish as she observes Regina's passive expression and the her fingers press rigidly against the frame of the door where she'd only opened it to stick her head out.

 

"Um, can I come in?" Emma asks quietly, trying in vain to clear the absurdly husky tenor from her voice and that dark taunting voice from her mind.

 

“Why do you smell like the basement of a brewery?” Regina asks instead of giving a reply, an eyebrow tipping up as she sniffs disdainfully in Emma’s general direction.

 

And usually Emma would respond to the taunt with something equally as witty but she doesn't. Instead, she just wraps her arms tighter around her body as the cold wind whips against her back and up along her thighs and she presses her lips tightly together to prevent herself from saying something stupid.

 

“You’re drunk, aren’t you?”

 

“Can I come in?” Emma repeats, heart clenching so hard at the immediate concern on Regina’s face as her entire body  _shakes._ It’s an unguarded look, one so full of care and love that it has Emma almost choking out a sob.

 

“Emma.” Her name escapes in a whisper as Regina finally opens the door entirely and places a hand at her too cold shoulder to usher her past the foyer and into her study.

 

She goes on autopilot, unseeing as tears blur her vision. The wedding band _burns_ and _burns_ where it rests uncomfortably on the hand that’s trapped at her side and she shifts anxiously from feet to feet when Regina takes the throw blanket from off of her couch and approaches. She wraps it around Emma, dark eyes concentrating on the task at hand as she rubs her hands along Emma's arms and her back in an effort to warm her up.

 

Hook wouldn’t be pleased to know where she’d gone off to. But Emma just needed to think and suddenly, under Regina’s soft open eyes and quiet concern she can’t take the pressure of being a certain someone’s happy ending.

 

“I…” She clenches a fist against the rise of her breastbone, pressing hard against the organ that was threatening to beat out of her chest. “…hurt.” She chokes out and before she knows it she’s being pulled into a warm embrace as Regina's arms pull her in. She immediately takes her heels off, lessening the height difference between them and sighs blissfully as her own arms curl around Regina's waist as she presses her face against Regina's neck in their second ever genuine hug that seems to almost hold all of the broken pieces of Emma's conflicted heart together.

 

They stand like that for a while, a desperate hug shared between them that melts into this overwhelming sort of peace and comfort. It’s different to the first one they’d shared that drunken night. So different that Emma wants to sob at it as Regina's arms continuously move along her back and her sides and she presses her cold nose against Regina's neck earning her a delicate squeak that she grins at and snuggles further into Regina's embrace.

 

“You’re not going anywhere in this state.” Regina announces what feels like an eternity later and Emma murmurs her agreement against soft olive skin that has Regina shakily pulling away. She pouts at the breaking of the hug but it soon disappears as she allows Regina to take her hands and lead her up to the guest room that she practically considers her own.

 

Emma gets ready for bed, halfheartedly brushing her teeth in the adjoining en suite and ungracefully shucking off her dress. She shuffles through a few of her tank tops and shorts she always leaves in the draws of that room before crawling beneath the covers with all the grace of a five year old. Regina returns a few minutes later with clean pillows, a blanket and a pointed glare at Emma’s carelessly tossed clothing. She clicks her fingers and puts them away, no doubt in their appropriate places.

 

“Please don’t leave.” Emma requests hesitantly, cheeks blooming red when Regina raises an eyebrow. “At least, not until I fall asleep.” She amends and Regina stills for a moment, gentle eyes sweeping over Emma and making her fidget a little. She doesn't answer, just sighs heavily like Emma was being a pain and props a pillow against the headboard, sinking into the side of the mattress Emma had left vacated.

 

This ease with Regina is so addictive, and Emma doesn’t allow herself to think about it too much when she snuggles into Regina’s side, throwing an arm around her waist and tucking her head beneath her chin, There's the rumble of soft husky laughter above her head before she's being encased within Regina's arms and Emma hums, loving the warmth of the embrace as she curls her fingers against the back of Regina’s pyjama top and glosses over just how right it feels.

 

She lets herself be held by Regina, too tired to pull away, too tired of being the strong one and certainly too tired to think about the day she's had. They don’t really talk, especially not about that engagement band on Emma’s hand that means things are about to change again, and Emma falls asleep cradled in Regina’s arms safe and sound in her guest room.

 

* * *

 

Emma wakes up the next morning to the gentle smoothing of fingers combing through her unruly curls and the scent of honey and lilacs lingering on the pillows. It’s a pleasant sensation, one that almost demands a contented sigh from her.

 

And just as the sigh escapes her lips, the mattress dips at her sides and she can feel Regina leaning forward. Emma doesn’t know why but she tilts her chin at the last possible second and her stomach flips when there's the unmistakable sensation of those soft lips pressed against hers.

 

Regina's breath catches against her mouth and Emma goes incredibly still as the woman immediately freezes above her when suddenly an energy building against their connected mouths pushes their lips apart.

 

Emma's heart beats in overtime as an odd reckless feeling steals over her and misty eyes spring open in time to catch the last vestiges of rainbow light flooding out over the room, passed the window and heading straight through the entirety of Storybrooke.

 

She pauses in sudden disbelief, her thoughts abruptly coming to a halt as she comes face to face with sorrowful dark eyes that show their own brand of surprise before they both spring apart.

 

Only, Emma reacts a lot more clumsily than her bed partner and ends up toppling off the bed.

 

“ _Fuck_.” She groans, landing in a heap on her back and quickly ignoring the pain blooming against her lower back in the face of the antsy panicky feeling warring in her chest. She presses a hand against her chest and catches sight of the engagement band and all of a sudden she can’t meet Regina’s eyes.

 

Not that Regina’s faring any better, she’s as still as a statue perched on the bed, eyes not daring to even look at Emma, but right _through_ her.

 

Emma immediately shoots to her feet.

 

“Hey I um, _work_! I...Sherriff-ing! Gotta -- later!” And she bolts out of the room and down the stairs praying that she doesn’t run into their son in the kitchen.

 

Luck’s not on her side this morning apparently as Henry’s gaze follows her from his perch at the kitchen island where he’s eating pancakes. But not just any pancakes, _oh no_ , special chocolate chip pancakes with Regina’s special type of syrup, _Emma’s favourite_. Except, her stomach fiercely rebels at just the sight of them, not that the guilt eating at her doesn’t contribute to it in waves.

 

“Morning, kid.” She says, hurriedly shoving her feet into her boots and tugging her jacket out of the coat rack and shucking it on in a matter of seconds.

 

Henry just raises a little eyebrow at her, sluggishly nibbling on his pancakes and Emma’s never been more grateful for this moody teenage phase he was slipping into.

 

She jerkily waves at him, telling him she’d talk to him later and poofs out of the mansion.

 

It takes her a few seconds to realize she’d essentially poofed to the station in nothing but her jacket, boots and underwear.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

Emma’s barely out of Regina's house before the Queen comes storming in, a swirl of pronounced purple smoke and an amused little tilt to her lips even as her eyes burn with rage.

 

"You!" Regina hisses, suddenly able to move her frozen limbs as she gets off the bed and storms over to the Queen. "How the hell are you _alive_?!"

 

The Queen grins, reaches out and traps Regina's chin between her thumb and forefinger. "Yes, I distinctly remember you _murdering_ me." She hisses and Regina jerks her head out of her hold, a fireball coming to life in her hands that the Queen just sighs and puts out with a twitch of her wrist.

 

That makes Regina murderous.

 

"Clearly I didn't do it properly." 

 

The Queen rolls her eyes. "Enough of the useless threats Regina, I've only revealed myself because a serious matter has come up. I came to ask you what the hell you were doing."

 

Regina's immediately taken off-guard. "What do you mean?"

 

The Queen grits her teeth. "I felt _magic_. _That_ magic."

 

Regina's eyes narrow even as her heartbeat quickens. Did the Queen know? Did she see Emma leave? Regina hadn't even had enough time to process what had happened yet. It had left her feeling vulnerable and now that the Queen was riling her up she felt too exposed under her knowing gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about."

 

The Queen laughs, a mocking thing that hits against Regina's insecurities and makes her curl her hands into tight shaky fists. "True love magic, Regina." She sneers condescendingly. "You've found _our_ true love."

 

Regina laughs, heartbeat accelerating at the Queen's words but determined not to outwardly show how much that phrase affects her. "Oh? _You_ want love?" She asks mockingly.

 

The Queen's eyes blaze a murderous violet as she growls in Regina's face. "I should end you."

 

"Go ahead." Regina just smiles, even as the Queen summons a significantly larger fireball as a threat. Instead of responding to her rage, she turns on her heels, knowing that her other half couldn't possibly harm her as she starts tidying up the room as a rather pitiful form of distraction.

 

"Does it have anything to do with Miss Swan?" The Queen calms significantly to ask and Regina tries not to let her see how the name affects her. Except, the Queen _is_ her. She _knows_ Regina, intimately, and her eyes narrow at her reaction, or lack thereof. Regina couldn't possibly tell what her own face exposed under the Queen's watchful eyes. "Fine." The Queen says. "Keep your secrets."

 

And Regina's thoughts filter back to the kiss from just now and how her entire body had hummed at the feel of it. How it had felt like her own magic and Emma's had _merged_ somehow and tingled along her arms and pooled directly in her chest.

 

She'd been obsessively thinking about Emma accepting the pirate's proposal the night before and she'd fallen into a bit of a fitful sleep, cradling Emma against her chest and cursing just how much she longed for the woman. Cursing the fact that she was too late to do anything about her own feelings and she'd begrudgingly extracted herself from Emma's arms early that morning to distract herself with cooking.

 

Henry was already up, sitting on a stool in the kitchen with a bowl of cereal texting Violet and she'd gotten a bleary good morning grunted in her direction. She'd smiled and pulled him into a hug and he'd hugged her right back, something she was grateful for as he asked her to make his and Emma's favourite type of pancakes.

 

She'd then proceeded to come back into the room to wake Emma, sighing lovingly at the sight of the Sheriff curled up in the spot that Regina had vacated, her face buried against the pillow Regina had been using. She'd gone over to the woman, affection overwhelming her in waves as she'd leaned over her to uncharacteristically brush a kiss against her forehead. But Emma had moved and their lips had connected and that rush of magical rainbow light had come spilling out. Regina had felt the power of it threatening to ruin her already fragile emotional composure and she'd been unable to even utter a word when Emma had went running right out the door.

 

"That true love's kiss either _broke_ something or _activated_ something. And before it there was no curse over the town. But now it's there, like a magical dome encasing us once more. I know you felt it, you had to!" The Queen says pointedly, breaking through her introspective thoughts.

 

"You're the curse." Regina snipes.

 

“It seems that I've grossly underestimated you two.” The Queen drawls, a mocking laugh slipping past her lips as she points an accusing finger in Regina’s direction. “You’re pathetic.”

 

And that makes Regina drop the sheet she'd been folding to stomp over in the Queen's direction. "No, I just know that _you're_ the culprit. What did you do?” Regina hisses and the Queen laughs, carefree and slightly sardonic.

 

“I came here cause I thought you _knew_ or at least had some semblance of what was going on.”

 

“Knew _what_?”

 

“Didn’t you feel it Regina? Magic is different here again. Someone is messing with it.”

 

Regina growls, takes a threatening step forward. "You should know, after all, it's your doing is it not? Zelena already told me about the curse."

 

The Queen sighs impatiently. "Ah yes, _the sister_. It wasn't exactly a curse, it was just a spell meant to freeze time in Storybrooke again."

 

"Why?" Regina's eyes narrow. "What good will that serve?"

 

"To stop Henry from aging."

 

"Stay away from my son." Regina practically hisses.

 

"He's mine too." The Queen growls right back and Regina's thrusted once again into that abyss of hurt and _longing_ burning brightly within those eerily similar dark eyes. Hurt so intense Regina could hardly breathe at it. In the split, the Queen had gotten all of that guilt and self loathing she'd had overwhelming her heart and soul when she'd thought herself nothing more than a terrible mother to Henry. And confronted with it once again, Regina felt overwhelmed almost to the point of tears. The Queen seems shaken at the amount of emotions she has on display and she turns away, arms folded as she forces herself to calm down. "But somehow that spell was twisted or possibly cancelled out. Someone casted a curse. I can feel it."

 

Regina takes a deep breath, composing herself. “Are you trying to make me believe that there's a new curse over the town by someone else?”

 

The Queen nods. “Indeed.” And Regina just... _can't_ accept that. _Won't_ accept that. They'd already dealt with their quota of villains for the month. There couldn't possibly be something threatening their happiness once again so soon. She rejects that idea and rejects the Queen's innate need to cause chaos wherever she sets her shapely heels.

 

“Impossible. It's you, I _know_ it's you." She says testily. "Gold isn't around, he's still probably holed up somewhere looking for a way to wake Belle from her sleeping curse and you're _lonely_ and looking for a way to actively ruin my life.”

 

“I've had enough of this." The Queen sighs and Regina's once again shaken at the depth of that hurt dwelling within the mirror image of her own eyes. "You’ll see soon enough, dear." She says instead and disappears in a swirl of purple, leaving Regina to her muddled thoughts.

 

* * *

 

Emma's stomach grumbles valiantly as she passes by Granny's on her way to the docks to check out a rowdy group of teenagers. She groans miserably and barrels on, not dwelling on the fact that she hasn't eaten all day and she barely even has the energy to chase after the Neverland misfits as they turn tail and run when the police cruiser comes into view.

  
When she gets back from patrol there's a paper bag on her desk and a bear claw.

 

She launches herself at it immediately, biting into the doughy treat with all the grace of a ruffian.

  
  
Sitting comfortably in the new recliner they'd gotten a few days before, she tears into the paper bag and sighs blissfully when her favourite sandwich comes tumbling out. The grilled cheese is expertly cut, wheat. And who else besides Regina would stick lettuce and a bunch of other vegetables in what's supposed to be an unhealthy but delicious sandwich?

  
  
Her first bite is tentative as she reflexively grimaces at the sight of vegetables. But then her face lights up because _it's not that bad_ , actually it's a lot better than a simple grilled cheese, a thought that’s practically sacrilegious in her mind. The middle has juicy roasted chicken and she moans in absolute contentment, slowing down her bites to savor the taste of a rich creamy cheese sauce added to the sandwich that explodes across her tongue. It's sinful just how much she happens to moan at every bite she devours and she's already planning a return trip to the mansion to chastise Regina for keeping this delicacy from her for so long.

  
  
She checks the bag again and her fingers wrap around an apple which she pulls out and places on her desk as a note simultaneously falls out of the bag written in elegant script. Emma reaches for it, taking the last bite of the sandwich as she reads it. It only says two words ' _I'm sorry_ ' and Emma suddenly has trouble swallowing.

 

* * *

 

It’s like a dam broke within Emma and she's been obsessing over the note ever since. Even as she'd picked up a few grocery items for Snow that evening and then had been called on to monitor some strange happenings in the nearby forest. The Town's people had reported some strange black clouds of smoke around the forest but as luck would have it, it had apparently all but disappeared when Emma had gotten there. She was annoyed that she'd apparently left the station for no reason but her heart just wasn't in it to chastise the town's people about their false reports. She was having a hard time focusing so she'd just done a cursory sweep of the area with her magic to humour them and left after a few minutes.

 

The apology note sitting on the dashboard of her bug had her thoughts filtering right back to Regina and the Sheriff's mood all but plummeted.

 

It's likely that Regina was apologizing for their kiss and Emma's breath hitches when she finally allows herself to remember it. To remember how her entire body practically vibrated with nerves and with anticipation and _magic_ that twirled pleasantly beneath her skin and blew out in a wide arc of light that had her catching her breath and breaking their lips apart.

  
  
She had seen it, the disbelief, but also the slight detection of fear stiffening Regina's posture and the dark swirl of regret and shame hiding behind those dark irises and Regina had visibly shut down. Not that Emma was much help herself, she'd admittedly gone dry mouthed and they'd stared at each other for a small eternity before Emma had mumbled some incoherent mess and bolted right out the door.

  
  
"Did you see it?" Snow asks excitedly as soon as Emma pops through the door of the loft with her too many bags of groceries which David automatically takes, placing them on the counter. “The rainbow arc! There's another true love couple in town!"

  
  
And Emma _nopes_ right out of _that_ conversation, immediately turning to head back out the door, her stubborn mind rebelling at even beginning to process her mother’s words. Snow stops her in her tracks, piles a few tupperware containers with enough food to feed a small army in her arms and promptly reminds Emma that they were going dress shopping the following day.

  
  
Emma smiles, as much as she can manage in that moment, and Snow hugs her with an exuberance that has her quivering as David kisses her forehead like a proud Dad and pats her affectionately on the back. In that moment, with their excited faces trained on her, Emma's never felt more out of place in her entire life.

  
She quickly kisses her baby brother cradled in David's arms and immediately poofs herself home, too emotionally drained to even drive the bug the street over where she lived.

 

* * *

 

The next evening, Ruby comes by with a bottle of scotch and a bag of popcorn coupled with a mischievous little grin and Emma grimaces as she lets her in.

 

“I’ve sworn off alcohol.” She says warily, eyeing Ruby's stash with distaste.

 

Ruby frowns, bypassing her to make herself at home in the kitchen, rifling through Emma's cupboards for shot glasses and a bowl. “I’m calling bullshit. That doesn’t sound like you.”

 

Emma grunts as they move towards the living room and settle on her too lumpy sofa. She doesn't offer up a reply and can't even pull herself out of the dark depressing mood she'd found herself in as Ruby pours her a drink.

 

Ruby's eyes rove over the place settling on a strewn box of leather jackets and trinkets on the floor as she raises an eyebrow. "Hey uh, where's your fiancé?"

 

Emma sighs heavily, idly swishing the alcohol to the side of the shot glass as her engaement band clinks obnoxiously against it. "Probably somewhere on his ship being all moody. Apparently he figured that proposing was justification enough to push my boundaries and just move his stuff in without my approval."

 

Ruby side eyes her. "But...you're engaged...you'll be living together soon enough right? Dorothy and I moved in together about a few months into our relationship. What's the hold up?"

 

Emma doesn't deign the question worthy of an answer, instead, she just pops a few popcorn kernels into her mouth and Ruby shifts on the couch as she changes her line of questioning.

 

“Hey did you see that rainbow?” Ruby asks and she immediately tenses up.

 

“What’s everyone’s issue? You live in a freaking fairytale town.” Emma practically hisses.

 

Ruby raises an eyebrow. “Which is why you of all people should know how rare that is.” Emma downs her shot in one go and abruptly jerks up from her chair, lips pressed in a firm tight line. She's a bit annoyed at herself for being so short with her friend but Ruby doesn't question her, probably instinctually aware of her mood, something she admires in the young werewolf and begrudges that Snow doesn't seem to have. “You’re coming to the party later right? The thing for the new true love couple?”

 

And Emma just nods, shucking on her blue leather jacket. She'd been bombarded by Snow and dress shopping that morning and then that last minute party for 'the newest true love couple' and then Hook had picked a fight over moving his things in and the deputy position he wanted and  -- her face softens when she sees Ruby’s concerned look.

 

“Yeah, I’ll be there for a bit." Snow was literally breathing down her neck about it and Emma had been roped into helping spread the word...something she was failing spectacularly at doing as her mind idly wonders if Regina had heard about it and if she was going to come. "And thanks for the drink but I have a shift at the station and I just....I should be responsible and not get totally smashed.”

 

“Good.” Ruby says. “And hey, get excited cause I hear Snow's got something amazing planned for the couple.”

 

That manages to fill Emma with rising anxiety that she quickly hides behind a soft disbelieving snort and a wave as she leaves Ruby lounging on her couch in a dark lonely home Emma was slowly beginning to wonder why she owned.

 

* * *

 

Regina doesn’t show up at the party Snow throws for ‘the newest true love couple’ in town and Emma isn’t ready to admit why that sends a painful pang tearing through her chest.

 

She sits in a corner that night, drowning her sorrows in scotch that gets taken from her two _cups_ later when her words curiously begin to slur together. David shoots her a disappointed look as he relocates the bottle of enchanted alcohol and sets her up with a glass of water that she just pushes around the counter like a bored little kid.

 

It’s apparently all amusing to Ruby, who’s got her arm draped around Dorothy -- her true love. And Emma wonders at the easy going relationship between them, at how Ruby literally got the definition of _love at first sight_ falling right into her lap and honestly it’s just so unfair how everyone around her was all lovey dovey and happy meanwhile she couldn’t even summon the courage to get her cowardly self to face Hook or Regina.

 

But at least the town was safe, a testament to her doing her job instead of wallowing too much. She vaguely remembers the Storybrooke residents going on again about a strange shimmering smoke in the forest they'd seen again that day that resembles the inky blackness of the Dark One but David had been on patrol too and hadn't seen anything amiss out there. But Emma was willing to bet it was one of those little rascal kids trying to agitate the town's people by pulling a prank. It couldn't be more serious than that.

 

A few hours later when Snow begins her disappointed ranting over not being able to drape the true love couple in flowers spanning all the colors of the rainbow and have her birds help her do a rendition of Celine Dion's _The Power Of Love_ , Emma leaves in a plume of white smoke. She goes home to her new empty house and to her new commitments and tries to remind herself exactly why she was doing this.

 

* * *

 

 

A week passes by in a flurry of wedding talks with Snow and Ruby, uncomfortable fights with Hook that he tries to end by serenading her on his ship, constant vigilance from a suddenly intuitive Henry and no contact with Regina. 

 

And Emma's uncertain, but the atmosphere in Storybrooke starts feeling even more heavy on her chest every time she tries using her magic.

 

* * *

 

Regina wakes the following Monday morning to the scent of a literal feast wafting up from her kitchen and also a pounding headache that lances through her skull. It’s a weird and unexplained headache and Henry comes into her room a second later, offering her pills for the headache and an explanation of Emma cooking breakfast in the kitchen.

 

She raises an eyebrow at that. Emma didn’t stay over the night before. In fact, they’d been avoiding each other all week. And Regina had thrown herself into investigating the Queen's claims and tracking down the Queen herself but she'd been unsuccessful on the two accounts. It was enough to send her spiralling into an abyss of self loathing as her mind chooses to focus on the fact that she'd allowed the Queen to easily unsettle her. And there was also the fact that her _true love_ had apparently been so rattled that she'd literally disappeared from Regina's life tauntingly twirling about in her mind.

 

Regina smiles as Henry helps her up and she pulls him closer brushing a kiss to his forehead which he grimaces at but takes her hand to lead her out of the room.

 

She follows him a few steps towards the stairs but freezes there a second later when she notices an obscured practically black void separating her from the rest of the hallway.

 

“Henry!” She cries and he turns to her with a little perturbed look as she points shakily towards the black mass of shimmering magic as a long ornate mirror appears there, showing her the other side of the hallway.

 

“Mom, are you alright?” Henry asks, eyes sweeping over the hallway and settling back onto Regina just as quickly.

 

“Do you not see that?!” She hisses and Henry shrugs, eyes sweeping over the empty hallway and landing squarely back on her.

 

“See what?” He asks a bit impatiently and Regina's heart quickens as she wraps an arm around his forearm to prevent him from probably unknowingly walking towards it. She couldn't detect anything amiss in the air, nothing that gave a particularly evil magical signature and she stews in silent aggravation and debates ripping the Queen to shreds for her latest stunt.

 

“Henry?” Emma calls from the guest room and Regina looks up, instant relief on her face as she sees Emma exit the room in a sleepy disarray on the other side through the mirror and come to a halt. “Regina!” Emma yells, panicked and stricken and Regina’s heart leaps into her throat as Emma rushes closer towards the floating darkness.

  
  
“Emma don't!” She yells in response as she shakily moves towards the chasm and freezes just at the edge of the creaky floor board that tapers off into nothingness, wondering at the travesty that hit her home when she was asleep. Emma does the same and they peer helplessly at the other from their respective sides of the mirror.

 

“A fucking floating mirror on a black wall.” Emma chuckles dryly. “Now, I've seen everything. What the fuck is going on?” She demands.

  
  
Henry looks dubiously between them both -- and then proceeds to walk from Regina's side to Emma's side.

  
  
"HENRY!" They both yell his name at him and he startles enough to jerkily turn around on reaching Emma's side.

  
  
"What's with all the yelling?" He asks a little grumpily, rubbing a fist against his eye as he peers curiously at them. "It's way too early in the morning for this." He replies a bit groggily.

  
  
"Kid, there's like a huge freaking.... _hole_ in the floor where you'd just walked over." Emma explains and Henry's brow jerks up high on his face. He laughs.

  
  
"Okay Ma, I think maybe you hit your head somewhere, I mean, I know you had to wake up early to get me this morning from gramp's but --."

  
  
"You mean to tell me that you're not seeing that big fuc-"

  
  
"Miss Swan." Regina says tersely and Emma bites her tongue.

  
  
" _Kid_ , there's practically a blank space where you just walked through, and I'm only seeing over to your Mom's side through some old ass mirror."

  
  
Regina glares at her, not liking the crass language and Henry just stares like she's officially gone off the deep end.

  
  
"O _kay_ , if this is some weird sort of old people joke, consider me lost. We literally just overcame a crisis in Storybrooke yesterday and call me selfish but I'd like some down time before we face the next big thing. Now come on, you said we'd make some apple pancakes and omelets before _mom_ woke up." Henry whines, throwing a disappointed look in Regina's direction. "And my plate still doesn't have any omelets." 

  
  
"Wha - Kid." Emma says carefully. "We did that like, _a week_ ago."

  
  
"And _I'm_ the one with the bad memory." He snorts. "I just gave mom the Advil and water for her hangover like you asked and I'm heading to my room to get my phone before I go back to eating my pancakes in a bit. So you can't get out of our deal, you're making those omelets for us."

  
  
"Henry?" Regina calls softly, panicking so much at his words as she forces a calming note to her voice. "What did we do yesterday?"

  
  
Henry looks at her a little funny but shrugs. "We came back from New York, after helping the rest of our family portal in from the land of untold stories." And Henry’s a bit perturbed when all his parents do is gape at him. "Then Grandpa, Hook and I uh..." His eyes settle on Emma and Regina's gaze is automatically drawn down to her ring finger which was curiously blank. The instant relief it brings to Regina's chest is almost cruel as Emma shoves her now ring less hand into her back pocket. "Anyway, I’ll be down in a sec to have breakfast with you. I'm just gonna -" He jerks his thumb towards his room and practically sprints towards it when his phone goes off.

  
  
Emma and Regina remain tensed, looking at each other from their respective sides.

  
  
"Time spell?" Emma asks after what felt like a suffocating silence had descended between them. Regina jerks at suddenly being addressed and simply folds her arms.

 

"I don't know." She admits ruefully as they both peer down at the black never ending chasm separating the hallway and the floor length mirror that floats curiously above it on a black wall. Henry had walked right through to the other side where Emma is unscathed so obviously that meant that only Regina and Emma could see it. That was insane all on its own and she tries to remember if she'd ever heard about or seen a spell like this before.

 

Emma's curiosity finally overwhelms her and she reaches out her hand to touch the mirror. "No!" Regina hisses and Emma immediately draws her hand back, chastened. "We can't afford to make a mistake with this."

 

"This is fucking insane." Emma grumbles. "He said we came back to Storybrooke _yesterday_ , why would he? It's been a week since --" And Emma's sentence cuts off right there as they both helplessly stare at each other. Regina finishes the rest of the sentence in her head _a week since we'd shared true love's kiss and started avoiding each other like the plague_.

 

She'd had enough time to talk herself into approaching Emma and talk herself out and she'd made up her mind when Snow had wanted to drag her along for dress shopping -- which she'd politely declined and that party for 'the new true love couple' was the last straw. She just couldn't face Emma but now she was being forced to and she sighs heavily, running a frustrated hand through her hair.

 

"I know." She acknowledges, clearing her throat. "Your memories of the week are intact, correct?"

 

Emma nods. "Yeah, I mean...the last week was such a trip." _A trip_. Understatement of the century.

 

"Indeed." Regina agrees, and Emma's lips press into a firm tight line.

 

"What the hell are we gonna do?"

 

"Experiment." Regina supplies. 

 

Emma's eyebrow jerks up. "Oh _hell_ fucking no, didn't you almost had a conniption when I tried touching the mirror? You're not gonna --"

  
Regina ignores her, closes her eyes and tries magicking herself over to Emma's side of the hallway. She only manages to stumble at the black wall, practically knocking her already pounding head _hard_ against the mirror itself as Emma hisses her name and practically presses herself against the mirror on the other side.

 

Regina's heart leaps at the concern in her eyes as they sweep over her and Emma's hands clench into fists that she pounds in frustration against the mirror.

 

"What the fucking hell woman?!" Emma growls. "STOP TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF!" And that line hits Regina fiercely as her head jerks up and she gets trapped within the confines of green eyes that shimmer with worry and fear and adoration in equal parts. A sharp pain lances through her already pounding head and she grimaces.

 

“We need more information.” Regina says grimly. “And I know just the person to ask.”

 

Emma rubs her own forehead, apparently now realizing that she'd hit her head harder than she'd probably meant to. "Ugh, way too early in the morning to be dealing with another crisis. I need some breakfast."

 

They both agree and venture downstairs where Henry was already sitting, carving his way into his pancake stack.

 

"This is so good Ma." He smiles approvingly at the opposite side of the table where Emma should be and Regina arches an eyebrow, twisting to make sure that Emma had entered the room behind her. She takes a seat on the stool at her son's side, impatiently waiting for Emma as she nudges forward and can't help herself from swiping the bit of syrup that dribbles down Henry's chin.

 

"Take your time when eating Henry." She chastens. "I know you like giving Emma competition but there's no reason to forgo chewing in favour of choking because of your goal of being a bottomless pit."

 

“Ma’s the bottomless pit.” Henry protests, shoving literally an entire half of the giant omelette into his mouth and Regina looks around at their kitchen wondering at who had done the obvious cooking that morning.

 

"Where the hell is Emma?" She grumbles and Henry shoots her a weird look.

 

"She's right there." He says, pointing his fork at the stool behind the counter that Emma had sat on a week ago and Regina's heart rate skyrockets as she jumps up from her stool.

 

"Tell her to meet me upstairs in the corridor right now!" Regina hisses and Henry grabs a hold of her wrist, a concerned little tilt to his head stopping her dead in her tracks.

 

"What's going on?" He asks softly. Regina combs soothingly through his hair, gently cupping his cheek.

 

"I don't know." She admits carefully. "But we're going to find out. Just tell Emma what I said."

 

* * *

 

 

"I don't fucking believe this insanity. Why the fuck can't I see you downstairs?" Emma comes grumbling up the stairs a few minutes later and Regina's relieved to see her, even as she grumpily stuffs one of those thick pancakes into her mouth and chews like a savage.

 

"Did you make those?" Regina asks and Emma pauses on her side of the mirror to peer down at the rest of the breakfast pancake she'd curiously rolled into one with the omelet stuck in the middle.

 

"Nope." She answers and Regina sighs heavily.

 

"Then we have a problem."

 

They're broken out of their discussion by Emma's phone vibrating in her pocket and Emma's eyes go wide as she fishes out the device with sticky fingers. "It's Hook." She says and Regina rolls her eyes because _of course_ , Emma was in for a verbal lashing and it begun in much the same manner when she answered the call and was greeted by a “ _Where the bloody hell are you?!_ ” blasting through the phone.

 

Regina had the thought to magic the device away as Emma grumbled out a few responses and then told him to not come by the station later because she was dealing with something. That had Regina a bit placated.

 

"You said you knew someone to ask about this situation." Emma's voice pulls Regina from her thoughts. "Who were you referring to?"

 

"Zelena came to me about a week ago and tried convincing me that the Queen was in Storybrooke."

 

Emma's eyes go wide. "What?! And you didn't tell me?!"

 

"I was planning to tell you _and_ look for her!" Regina replies, defensive. "Besides, she came to me the next day anyway." And Regina fills Emma in about what the Queen had said almost a week ago.

 

Emma chuckles dryly. "A curse. A damn curse. Figures. Just when I was beginning to --" And her sentences cuts off abruptly as she stares helplessly at Regina. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

 

Regina's heart pangs at the expression on Emma's face. She shrugs. "I thought I could deal with it."

 

"Regina." Emma grumbles. "We're a _team_. You and I work better together. You know this."

 

And Regina fidgets uncomfortably with her fingers under the direct assault of those green eyes. "I know." She admits quietly. "I'm sorry."

 

Emma sighs heavily. "Okay. First thing's first. We need to find the Queen." 

 

* * *

 

 

They both leave the house that morning, going into their respective jobs and reliving the same day in much of the same manner. It makes Regina overwhelmingly frustrated, especially since her day had ended so damn unpleasantly the last time. And she'd tried avoiding Snow but she was on her about going to the diner for the Disaster Averted party like she was a week ago and Regina felt herself caving.

 

Henry was gushing about the stargazing date he was leaving early to have with Violet and Regina had been roped in later that evening  by Zelena to pick outfits for the occasion with her and baby Robyn. It had been a fun little bonding event for them the last time but now she couldn't even force herself to be happy, knowing how the day would end.

 

The only notable difference was that she'd seen Gold out and about town that day about a week ago but he curiously wasn't there today. She doesn't pay that much mind and instead focuses on getting herself ready for Snow's party, already wishing that it was over.

 

She forces herself to enter the diner earlier that night but gets overwhelmed by the obviously suspiciously jolly energy surrounding Snow, Charming and the pirate that she'd missed the other day by arriving late with Zelena.

 

She drinks with Zelena who curiously cuts her off after she tries to empty a bottle of whiskey into a cup and can't tamp down on the way her stomach rebels when a sudden hush befalls the diner. She looks over anxiously to see Hook on his knees, knowing this moment was coming even if she can't see Emma's reaction. But just knowing that Emma was deliberately there at the diner when she knew that proposal was coming too made her quake with anger and remorse in different parts.

 

"I'm leaving." She tells Zelena pointedly and Zelena shoots her a sympathetic look that's just _way_ too knowing and it rattles her so much that she doesn't wait for her reply as she disappears in a swirl of purple smoke and spends the rest of the night in her study drinking.

 

* * *

 

She wakes up in the same manner as the day before, with Henry there graciously offering her pills for a headache that seemed to want to trip her very sanity and she clings to him, hugs him so fiercely to her chest that he ends up concerned about her.

 

"I'm fine, mijo." She lies expertly as he pulls her to her feet and gushes about Emma's cooking. She enters the hallway and when she sees the mirror still there like an ominous sign, she sighs heavily. After having breakfast with Henry, she tells him to tell Emma to meet her upstairs once more, ignoring his questions and curious looks as she climbs the stairs. She makes up her mind to stay at home that day instead of going into the office and magics her comfortable leather chair from her study to the hallway just as Emma comes ambling up the stairs on her side of the hallway.

  
“Time's on a loop." Regina says sounding as grave as Emma looks. "This day's going to keep repeating itself."

 

“For how long?” Emma asks, as she tears into another pancake and starts pacing the length of the hallway.

 

“I have no idea.” Regina says. “The Queen said that she only casted a spell to freeze time in Storybrooke. But clearly it’s been somewhat...tampered with.”

 

“Oh great, just fucking great.” Emma laughs, sharp and a little hysterical and jerkily turns on her heel and starts marching down the rest of the hallway.

 

“Where the hell are you going?!” Regina hisses and Emma turns and practically starts sprinting towards her, a determined set to her mouth and fire burning within her eyes.

 

“Emma be careful!” Is all Regina gets out before Emma collides with the darkness and hisses in absolute surprise as she slumps to the floor, below the cut off point where the mirror allows Regina to see. “Emma!” She calls, a little frantically and Emma’s hand waves at her from her spot on the floor and she breathes out heavily. “You idiot.” She hisses.

 

“Ow.” Emma groans. “That felt like a literal brick wall.” Regina rolls her eyes as Emma stands up again cradling her head.

 

"You shouldn't continuously bang your head against things like that, what little sanity you do have may come tumbling out." Regina quips.

 

"Oh har har very funny." Emma grumbles. "And for your information I'm not as entirely useless as you like to pretend. I got something done yesterday." 

 

"Oh?"

 

"Yeah. I found the Queen." 

 

Regina's eyes go wide. "Impossible."

 

"Who's the competent one _now_ , your majesty?" Emma asks cheekily. 

 

Regina rolls her eyes. " I can't detect her." **** ~~~~

"Maybe because she's you?" Emma suggests and Regina pauses and sighs heavily. 

 

"You can see her yet you can't see me if I venture beyond the confines of this hallway." Regina says and Emma shrugs helplessly, admitting quietly that she too didn't understand that fact herself. "Did you speak with her?"

 

"No but that's what I'm planning to do this morning." Emma says determinedly as her cell phone begins to ring with that call from Hook and Regina grits her teeth and despises the man and can't control the frostiness from her tone when Emma answers it a second later.

 

"He's like a damn bloodhound, tracking you all over town." She snipes and Emma's eyes soften considerably as they land on her and she ends the call. 

 

"I'll let you know if I have any leads okay?" Emma says, totally ignoring her Hook comment and Regina nods and _hates_ this odd limbo they're in with not addressing the elephant in the room. The true love kiss that had spilled their feelings for each other out in the open and may have possibly contributed to the wonkiness of the Queen's time spell.

 

"I'll be in my study or tearing down Rumple's shop looking for a solution."

 

"Good then we'll meet back here tonight?" Emma asks hopefully.

 

Regina swallows thickly, but nods nonetheless and Emma smiles and disappears in a whirl of white.

 

* * *

 

Emma's tracking spell leads her down into Regina's vault and she forgoes any manner of politeness and essentially magics herself in there in a grand puff of white smoke that uncharacteristically startles the Queen.

 

It feels so surreal, seeing Regina or rather, this part of her beyond the confines of that hallway, even if she was dressed in her Enchanted Forest getup and Emma pauses a little to take in the novelty as the Queen's eyes narrow at her.

 

“What the hell did you do?!” Emma hisses and the Queen pulls up a little short, tilting her head to the side as her eyes sweep over Emma.

 

It’s a little bit unnerving the way they linger for far longer than necessary just south of Emma’s face and Emma presses her mouth into a firm tight line when the Queen approaches, making her fight the urge to take a step back as the woman inserts herself into her space.

 

“You sound just like her, you know that?” The Queen says in a strange sort of soft tone, and Emma detects a little, dare she say it, sadness to her words.

 

“Like who?”

 

“Regina.” The Queen spits the name with so much derision, it stuns Emma. “She hates me too.” And guilt immediately overwhelms Emma as she remembers goading Regina to kill the Queen and she clenches her fists and hates how messed up this situation is.

 

“I-I don’t hate you.” Emma admits weakly.

 

The Queen laughs, one of those fake theatrical ones as she spins on her heel, that elaborate corseted dress shimmering as she strides over to the mirror on the other side of the vault and flicks a hand in the air, sending all of the dust in the room that had settled for who knows how long cascading in a gentle swoop up the stairs and out of the way.

 

She certainly has a flare for the dramatics.

 

“Save it, Savior.” She spits, and turns to pin Emma in place with those dark familiar yet unfamiliar eyes and a tight press to her lips. “I’m the reason why you were orphaned.”

 

And Emma doesn’t even flinch at that word again like she used to. It’s taken a bit of time and sometimes she stills feels like an orphan but she’s also better at accepting and loving her parents and all of their flaws. So she just shakes her head and answers truthfully.

 

“I’ve made my peace with what my parents did. They didn’t have to abandon me, and it’s fucked up the way they did it because I could have easily died. But I don’t regret the trials I’ve had to endure. It’s made me into the person I am and I got Henry out of it.”

 

The Queen blinks a little, clearly not anticipating that answer. “I fear you’re missing the point, Miss Swan.”

 

And Emma smiles at the return of the nickname with that familiar derisive tone. “I’m not. Plus I really can’t see myself being into the whole puffy gowns and elaborate hairstyles. I’d choose this life all over again if I had to.”

 

The Queen sighs. "I take it you did not venture into my vault to discuss our curious past?"

 

Emma shakes her head. "No."

 

"You came to accuse me of doing something unthinkable."

 

"I was angry." Emma admits. "I hate reliving the day we returned to Storybrooke."

 

"Well you should know that my spell only intended to freeze time so that I didn't miss any more time with my son." And Emma's ire deflates at that response.

 

"Then we're back to square one." Emma says grimly and she sighs heavily as she leaves the vault and heads back to her office to be promptly confronted with Hook and his insufferable self. He was going on about their moving in situation then the deputy position he wanted and she almost snapped when he finally addressed her time spent with Regina again. Emma had just about enough of this ranting.

 

"I was going to propose to you tonight." Hook says offhandedly, fingering a lock of her hair and she stiffens. Never once had he mentioned that. And something seems to click in her mind as he regards her through calculating eyes.

 

"Wait, did you propose to me to one up Regina?"

 

"How else was I supposed to stake my claim over you?"

 

"Stake your -- I'm not some goddamn property." She hisses those words she'd repeated a few times now. "I'm a _person_."

 

"Who spends way too much time fixated on her son's other mother." And he goes off on another tirade that Emma was getting way too tired of living through. "I suggest you sort out what our relationship actually means to you. If you even love me at all."

 

"I --"

 

"I'm tired of being in second place." He softens just a bit. And Emma's stomach plummets along with his words. "I'm just tired of coming in second place to your family with her."

 

And Emma can't even respond when he pulls her into his embrace and murmurs a soft _I love you_.

 

Emma clings to him at that, guilt in her heart when the words just wash over her and don't seem to settle pleasantly. Not like that one time Regina said it. And she banishes the thought of the other woman and jerks abruptly away from his embrace when he pulls her closer and tries to kiss her. His unfocused eyes find hers just before she disappears in a swirl of white and as anger fills his eyes like a stormy sea of self righteous fury, Emma feels happy that their moment's over and can't even seem to force herself through these interactions with him any longer.

 

* * *

 

 

Another few days pass by with no more leads. Ruby had curiously started coming over to the station after Hook left to report some people missing. Every day it was a longer list and the werewolf was growing increasingly concerned that the list had gotten so lengthy in a matter of hours. But Emma knew it had been almost two weeks and even though she'd added those missing people to her list, every day Ruby added a new one and it just frustrated her even more until the werewolf pointed out something that made Emma pause considerably - they all had _one_ thing in common. 

 

Emma had decided to double down at the station - more patrols were issued to all of her deputies and she begun taking the town's folks words about the black smoke in the forest a bit more seriously.

 

But even with the Queen's help, they'd never truly found out the cause of that dark smoke that Emma had never witnessed curling in the forest. 

 

She pays the Queen another visit a few days later and finds her stewing with rage, trying to conjure her signature fireball to her palm.

 

The Queen flicks her wrist and her magic sputters a little. She blinks heavily as her hand shakes and Emma approaches carefully and fights the urge to touch her arm. "What's wrong?"

 

"My magic." The Queen hisses. "It's been." She pauses as she finally conjures a fireball and hurtles it into an obviously newly added in fireplace. "That spot where Regina injected the serum into us, it's been...I don't know if it was suppose to feel like it did but I can feel something just...stuck to me, maybe inside me? I think it's inhibiting my magic a bit. Or maybe that was the split." 

 

Emma's brows furrow thoughtfully as the Queen's hands tremble again. "I think I should talk to Regina about this."

 

* * *

 

Emma ends up going back to the loft to have a restful night's sleep, sealing herself off from anyone who'd dare try to find her. Namely one bumbling pirate who she'd avoided by not going to the diner. The next morning when everything resets itself, she ends up back in the mansion and onto that plushy guest bed she loved so much. She sighs heavily and stumbles out of the room, only to be met with the sight through that mirror of Regina sitting on that leather couch dressed as if she was going into the office.

 

"Miss Swan." She's greeted and Emma laughs. Its this pained choked sound that sounds suspiciously like a sob as she catches Regina's eyes and her heart hurts at the longing and the painful way they were both not acknowledging the obvious thing that had caused them to most likely be separated.

  
  
"Fucks sake Regina, there's already a chasm between us, a literal fucking chasm. Do you want _more_ distance between us?"

  
  
"Oh you're frustrated with _me_ over distance miss 'I literally jump ten feet in the air or back into a wall' whenever I approach?"

  
  
And Emma blanches, not knowing that Regina had ever noticed that. "I never do that." She rebuts feebly and Regina just glowers, and turns her head away. Emma sighs, and can’t even make eye contact with her.

  
  
"Look, we have to work together to get out of this. We always work best as a team."

 

Regina doesn’t respond and Emma growls and slams her fist against the black wall.

 

“Fucking ow.” Emma groans and Regina sighs audibly, that hard look in her eyes melting into actual concern.

 

“Okay.” Regina says. “Let’s recount what we do know.”

 

"Ruby pointed out something interesting to me yesterday." Emma interrupts and Regina tilts her head curiously.

 

"Oh? Have we sunk that low to be needing the werewolf's help?"

 

Emma glares. "Hey, be nice. She's my best friend."

 

Regina sighs heavily. "Go on, what did the wolf puppy say?"

 

"The missing people all have something in common. Something that binds them together. Something that's rare in Storybrooke, hell, rare in the world."

 

"And what's that, dear?"

 

Emma's eyes catch dark ones then and her heart races against her chest at her next few words. "True love."

 

And they both seem to freeze with the weight of Emma’s admission.

 

“Oh.” Regina says softly, eyes suddenly shying away from Emma’s and Emma herself allows her gaze to drop down to her feet, curiously shuffling them as she waits for a more lengthy verbal admission. But it wasn’t imminent and Regina seemed to be uncomfortably willing the conversation itself away.

 

Emma swallows thickly and instead shuffles on over towards the mattress she’d plunked onto the floor earlier.

 

“Bet that put a damper on my parents nightly activities.” Emma chuckles, a little strained as she saves them from this ordeal.

 

Regina takes the bait and looks on over at her. "I'm sorry you lost your mother."

 

Emma's heart hurts at the admission as she plucks thoughtfully at the threadbare sheet she'd thrown on the mattress in the hallway. Snow was the latest person to go missing on Ruby's list and David didn't seem to be that concerned, saying that Snow was out planning that Storybrooke Disaster Averted party. But Emma knew better. She was likely where the other half of those true love couples had vanished to.

 

“Not like they’re selling a cure for fucking true love anywhere Regina.” Emma retorts, rolling off the mattress instead to sprawl onto the hard floor. “I’d buy that potion in a heartbeat.”

 

“Potion.” Regina repeats curiously and suddenly her eyes light up as she glances over to Emma. “Or a serum.”

 

“I mean, I guess.” Emma frowns and Regina slips back on her heels. “Hey, where are you going?” She asks as she sits up, squinting at Regina suspiciously.

 

“To check out a lead.” Regina says. “Don’t wait up for me.”

 

Emma glowers. “Don’t expect any of that chicken parmesan left when you get home later.”

 

Regina rolls her eyes. “Honestly Miss Swan, you’re going to eat me out of house and home before we finally solve this mystery.” She says as she disappears in a swirling vortex of purple, no doubt just to be able to get in the last word.

 

But she would have gotten it in any way, because Emma’s mind had only heard the first half of that sentence and promptly shut down in response.

  

* * *

 

Regina forgoes going into work in favor of hunting down a lead. She'd felt her magic dwindling considerably within the past couple of days and she'd yet to tell Emma. It made her feel even more faint and powerless and it had resonated directly in that spot where she'd taken that serum.

 

“Dr. Jekyll.” Regina calls as she rudely bursts into the room at Granny’s, Ruby hot on her trail.

 

“That’s rude you know.” The werewolf hisses and Regina spares her a side glance.

 

“Can it puppy. I have questions and he needs to answer them right now.”

 

“Y-your majesty.” The slight man stumbles away from his station, brewing so many potions that the stench that comes wafting out of the door is vile. Regina grimaces and Ruby whines, her sensitive nose protesting vehemently as she turns tail and runs back down the hall. A second later the burbling serum in the Doctor's room explodes into a thick black mess plastering the walls and the Doctor with its inky sticky consistency as Regina tries magicking herself away.

 

She only seems to manage at the last possible second and largely gets away from most of it except for a thick blob of the black serum that lands on her shoe.

 

“What the hell was in that serum you made?!” She practically hisses. The man swallows thickly as he fans at the black smoke curling in the room.

 

“I-I it’s an exceptionally complicated blend that took years to perfect in the land of untold stories. I’ve had to gather ingredients from different parts of that realm that barely have a substitute here in Storybrooke. Please forgive me, your majesty.”

 

Regina takes a deep breath. It would do no good to intimidate the man. “Do you have any more of it?” She asks somewhat calmer. The man shakes his head ruefully.

 

“The last of my batch was stolen.” He admits.

 

“Stolen?” Regina blinks. “Snow said that you gave that vial to her.”

 

“I was knocked out in the woods earlier today, someone took it and—“

 

“Why the hell didn’t you tell any of us?!” Regina hisses.

 

"I- I..." 

 

Regina immediately turns on her heel and disappears in a swirl of purple, finally summoning the courage to face the Queen in her vault.

 

* * *

 

Her talk with the Queen had only confirmed the strangeness to the serum that had been injected into them and their magic and they'd come to the conclusion that the thing had been somewhat tampered with.

 

"But the question truly lies in who gave that thing to the wretch to give to us in the first place." The Queen says from her station of potions burbling over at the fire and Regina sighs heavily.

 

"Snow was likely tricked."

 

"But who would want to mess with us?" The Queen asks and Regina reopens the tome they'd been pouring over as the Queen accidentally spills the replicated serum they'd concocted by the fire.

 

"Careful!" Regina warns and the Queen rolls her eyes as the thing spills over the floor. "Wait!" Regina says just as the Queen was going to magic the mess away. 

 

“What?" The Queen complains as Regina peers down at the blob of Jekyll's serum she hadn't remembered was still coating the front of her shoe.

 

"It's glowing." Regina says as the black blob turns into a weird shimmery light that takes a curious color. One Regina had only seen that Rumple had added to his updated information on true love at his shop. A color curiously characteristic of her magic combined with Emma's.

 

The blob swirls and sputters and turns to ash when the glow fades and Regina jerks herself abruptly from her stupor as a mirror hanging over the fireside glows.

 

"I have been trying to get into contact with you for weeks." The old Chinese man that had been curiously known as The Dragon addresses them in a loud booming voice as Regina scrambles towards the mirror. "Regina." He says sternly. "Your past has come back to haunt you." He says grimly and the Queen scoffs. 

 

"Yes she knows I'm here, get on with it if you have anything else to bore us with." The Queen snipes. The Dragon glowers but pays her no mind as he focuses on Regina.

 

"I sensed a great evil that night you were in my presence. And it was not from the Queen."

 

"Impossible." Regina hisses. "This is all her doing. She cast the time spell, she --"

 

"No, young one. The magic is different here once more and even I could sense it from my presence in the city."

 

"Yes, we know it's targeting true love. Dr Jekyll's potion -" 

 

"Dr Jekyll?" And the dragon's voice drops. "Impossible!" And his image shakes and sputters as Regina pounds helplessly on the hearth beneath the mirror. 

 

"What do you mean?" She hisses. "Help us!"

 

"I'm afraid I don't have much time. The curse is related to him and it's only getting stronger. He has much the same situation as you Regina, with the split."

 

"Snow did mention that he split himself." Regina murmurs. "But that half of him was left in the land of untold stories."

 

"No, he is not directly split like you are. The good Doctor was unsuccessful in that bid. He is his own greatest enemy."

 

"Are you saying that _he_ did all of this?" The Queen hisses and the dragon nods mutely. 

 

"Be careful. He is dangerous. The serum is attacking true love for a reason. He lost his and the Dark One promised him refuge in this land, namely your town, in order to find a way to awaken his own true love."

 

"We need to find Emma." Regina says as she grabs her coat from off of the chair.

 

"I have a little quest of my own." The Queen says and Regina rolls her eyes as she poofs herself out of the vault.

 

* * *

 

In her bid to find Emma Swan, who was oddly avoiding all of her calls and texts, Regina's tracking spell takes her down to the diner that night and she blanches when she sees everyone gathered there. Again.

 

And Regina forces herself to go. Just this once.

 

When Hook drops to his knees just as she takes her seat at Zelena's side, her throat closes up. She can't see Emma, or the expression on her face but the expression on Hook's face turns decidedly horrific when the ring is placed right back into the box as it re-closes.

 

Regina feels gratified and simply magics herself home where she takes a really lengthy relaxing shower. One that gives her peace of mind as she changes and curls up on her side on the couch with her book, fighting a sudden lethargy that steals over her body. A few minutes later she detects Emma's presence in the house and a few seconds later she's standing in the hallway, minus that dastardly ring.

 

* * *

 

Emma had had enough. Apart from being sick over having pancakes for two consistent weeks so far with Henry and an invisible Regina, dodging Ruby's back up calls for Snow about coming over to check out her wedding dress and dodging Hook's deplorable mood, she was bone tired. Tired of being proposed to and acting like she was happy.

 

And now as all of those hopeful smiles in her direction egg her along minus Snow's beaming smile, Emma found it suddenly easier to think. And she was down right fed up.

 

She had been proposed to almost half a dozen times. In the same manner and still her gut protested every time.

 

Looking down into Hook's hopefully smug face once again, she couldn't even force herself to say yes.

 

Or to respond apparently. Instead, she'd placed the ring back into the box and walked away, straight out the diner being chased by Hook for a couple of minutes until she'd just magicked herself to the newest pizza delivery place in Storybrooke and then to Regina's mansion.

 

Regina had apparently forgone the party too and instead Emma had found her sleepily curled up on that couch she'd magicked from her study, glasses perched high on her face as she poured through her magic tomes.

 

Emma smiles, she was simply beautiful like this, no make up, freshly washed hair that curled up in loose tendrils that framed her face when it dried and her silky pajamas.

 

The doorbell chimes and before she can interrupt Regina's reading, Emma goes down to answer it, yearning for the pizza she had stopped by to order on her way home from being trailed by Hook.

 

Instead, there on the front porch is Hook in all of his steaming pissed glory.

 

She's a bit rattled that he'd come so soon but she takes a step back, squares her shoulders and answers as calmly as possible.

 

"What are you doing here?"

 

"What am I doing here?? What the bloody hell are you doing here?!"

 

Emma tips her chin. "I live here."

 

His eyes blaze at her comment, mouth set as his voice turns cold. "Oh? Did you miss the part where I proposed?"

 

Emma's eyes narrow as the scent of potent alcohol washes over her as he yells. "Are you _drunk_? Were you drunk when you did that?"

 

He laughs, sharp and just a tad bit cruel. "Well how the hell else was I supposed to deal with this?"

 

Before Emma can respond, his eyes focus on a point behind her and they burn with such rage that it makes her recoil.

 

"You." He hisses. "I should have known."

 

She cant hear what Regina must be saying, but its enough to make Hook quake with rage.

 

"Yeah well, she's my fiancé and I-" He points an accusing finger in Regina's direction, eyes going wide. "I'm sure that was all your fault."

 

Regina clearly says something to irritate him further and Hook grabs Emma by the arm.

 

"I'm not bloody leaving without Swan."

 

And that's it, a magical tremor shakes the house on its hinges and Hook is sent sprawling on his ass landing ten feet away. And the door to the mansion slams shut in Emma's face. She immediately disappears in a curl of white smoke and reappears in front of the mirror.

 

"Regina!" She calls. "Regina!"

 

It's a while before the Mayor appears, hands balled into fists with a fire in her eyes that Emma's breathless at.

 

"I've been wanting to do something like that ever since he helped Greg and Tamara strap me down and electrocute me."

 

And Emma blanches, having forgotten that little tidbit over the fact that Regina had gone to hell with her and back in order to retrieve him.

 

She has such an amazing capacity for love and Emma's throat burns as they both stare helplessly at each other.

 

Regina must think that she's upset over what happened because her lower lip trembles and she wrings her fingers tightly together as she says. "I'm sorry Emma...I.." Her jaw tightens even as she forces out the words with so much sincerity Emma's eyes burn. "I'll go pick him off the sidewalk." And Emma presses her forehead against the mirror and smiles softly at this woman who was apparently her true love.

 

"You don't need to apologize for anything. Just leave him be, he'll find his way home." She says seriously and Regina chuckles softly and swipes at those tears trailing down her cheeks as she takes off her reading glasses.

 

"Never took you for the glasses type." Emma says and she's a bit uncertain from the distance but it looks like a red flush steadily begins climbing up Regina's cheek.

 

Regina clears her throat a little. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Sheriff Swan."

 

Emma's eyebrows shoot up. "Oh?" She grins, intrigued. "Do tell."

 

"Like for instance, I've been in contact with the Queen all week long."

 

That certainly is a surprise to Emma and she magics her mattress to the hallway, intent on having a long discussion about that  but they don't get a chance to start. Instead, an odd light starts glowing from Regina's palms and Emma shoots to her feet once more.

 

"What the hell is that?" She asks, panicked as Regina sluggishly peers down at the light and gasps when her hand begins disappearing.

 

"Emma!" She calls shakily as the white light envelops her entire frame and Emma's heart lurches against her chest as Regina slowly begins _disappearing_.

 

"REGINA!" Emma screams, trying with all her might to magic herself on the other side of the mirror. She kept knocking into her own side, stumbling into it with all the grace of an uncoordinated calf and she cries out and sends a splintering wave of white magic that dissipates into a white cloud of harmless dust when it reaches the mirror.

 

But it's no use, a second later a wave of light splintered straight across the house and Emma knew in her gut that Regina was gone. Likely no longer in Storybrooke.

 

She sinks to her knees, her entire frame shaking as her throat closes up, refusing the deep keening sobs that try to tear out of them. Her eyes spill over with helpless tears that rush down her face, pooling beneath her chin as she pounds against the mirror with all of her might, calling Regina's name over and over again.

 

"You called?" A voice says in a thick husky drawl from right beside her and Emma startles, turns her head and comes face to face with the Queen. Her lower lip wobbles pitifully and she launches herself into the woman's arms as she breaks down into tears.

 

Even more surprising, the Queen doesn't push her off. Rather, she curls a hand in Emma's hair, uncaring of the way that they both sink to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

 

* * *

 

The next day Emma wakes up all groggy and disorientated and minus the presence of the Queen and she hates the way she hopefully rushes out of the room and into the corridor to check to see if Regina's there. The mirror was no longer there, the abyss that had separated her from Regina gone and Emma could now slip into Regina's bedroom where the bed sat virtually untouched. Helpless tears sprung to her eyes, tears she didn't bother holding back when the events of the previous day slowly filtered back to her as she shuffles despondently down the stairs.

 

She was grateful to the Queen for providing the comfort she needed the night before. Losing Regina had taken such a heavy toll on her heart that she'd cried herself to sleep, tucked against the Queen's side as the woman ran soothing fingers through her hair. It was an unexpected comfort, one Emma didn't expect herself to cling to so intensely but the Queen didn't seem to mind. They didn't speak, choosing to comfort each other as the Queen hummed a strange tune that had lulled Emma into the sanctuary of sleep. 

 

When she enters the kitchen there's apparently some message from the dragon they'd met in the city stuck to a note on the fridge. It's a singular line, one that talks about true love and it reads "True love is the most powerful magic of all, one need only to surrender and trust in its power in order to fully bask in its allure." It makes _no_ sense to Emma and she grumbles and curses the unhelpful dragon beneath her breath as she depressively sits and eats her pancakes, watching Henry act like Regina's still there with them. Just like David acts like Snow's still there. She can't help the depressive sadness that overwhelms her when she dresses for work that morning but just sits in her bug and wallows in her distress.

 

* * *

 

Emma forgoes going into the station for the entire day and instead patrols the town. She avoids any and everyone as she sulks and is generally inconsolable as she listens to depressive love songs about finding and losing your love.

 

“I may have made time freeze again in Storybrooke but that twisted Dr Jekyll had twisted the serum injected into Regina." Is how the Queen greets Emma a few seconds later. She startles so badly that the car swerves with her jerky movements and the Queen grins at her from the passenger seat.

 

"Hey! Next time a damn warning would be nice!"

 

Sharp melodic laughter falls from the Queen's lips, playful and mocking and Emma curses herself for the way her face colors as she rights the car again and continues driving along the thankfully empty streets of Storybrooke.

 

"That fucking bastard! I knew he was being shady about something! He was acting so suspicious when I found him in the forest and I just felt like..." Emma shakes her head. "I should have checked that lead out. I'm such an idiot."

 

"Due to that curse he enacted in the serum, he would also would be responsible for sending your precious Snow back to the enchanted forest and starting that fissure that tore you away from Regina.” **** ~~~~

"You tracked my mother to the enchanted forest?" Emma asks incredulously? "How -- is Regina there with her?"

 

"Contrary to popular belief, with the right spell and the power of a mirror, it can be done, Miss Swan." The Queen says. "And as for your darling Regina...I can't seem to track her down."

 

"Regina was having the same trouble when she was trying to find you. What the hell are we supposed to do?" Emma grumbles, helplessly side eyeing the Queen.

 

"Well that serum was enacted by something he apparently despises - true love."

 

Emma's face pales considerably. "W-What?"

 

"So I was right all along, that true love's kiss got you two into this mess in the first place. It _activated_ the curse within the serum."

 

“And caused all of those true love couples to vanish just because Regina and I…” Emma starts tentatively. “We shared true love's kiss.”

 

The Queen’s eyes light up at that, a little smile curving around the edges of her lips. “Oh?” She says, intrigued at Emma's honesty. “My other half was being exceptionally coy. Do tell.”

 

Emma shrugs a shoulder, feeling a bit weird that she was going to divulge this to well, _Regina_. “It was an accident. She was going to kiss me on the forehead about two weeks ago and I…we ended up—“

 

“So she just conveniently missed your forehead and landed on your mouth.”

 

“No I…” Emma’s face colors.

 

“Oh, I see.” The Queen grins, one that holds mischievous intent and Emma doesn’t want to assess why exactly that makes her heart race.

 

“We’re true loves.” Emma says and the words feel strange on her lips. It's a good type of strange, one that leaves her heart aching as she comes back to reality. "That's why that serum did what it did to us." The Queen turns to her with such a piercing glare that Emma flinches in her seat.

 

“You’re _Regina’s_ true love. _Regina_. Not mine.”

 

Emma clenches her fists against the steering wheel and pulls the bug aside. “You’re the same fucking person.”

 

The Queen cackles and suddenly Emma finds herself staring into dark eyes as the Queen’s essentially leans over the console to glare right in her face.

 

“We are _not_.” The Queen spits, fierce and stubborn in her convictions. But Emma sees the rest of Regina in her. The fire that was missing from her counterpart. And call her stupid but it bolsters her confidence and she gently cups the Queen’s cheek, soft and reassuring, not hiding back the well of emotions she's prevented herself from feeling for her son's other mother any longer. The Queen bristles at this new point of contact between them, curiously holding her breath as Emma’s eyes sweep over her face.

 

“You are Regina.” Emma says softly, and the look that steals across the Queen’s face is so _disarming_ , it has Emma catching her breath when those dark eyes just seem to _soften_.

 

They're jerked out of the moment by an ominous rumble that shakes the entire town as black swirling energy launches up into the sky, directly over the diner. The vulnerable look is gone from the Queen in a second as she magics herself away in a swirl of purple and Emma’s left there with her frayed emotions, wondering why she was so insistent on proving that they were true loves to the Queen when she couldn’t even face Regina herself.

 

But she follows immediately, shifting her emotions aside to take the Queen's hand in her own as soon as she reaches the diner's entrance and they notice that almost the entire town was jam packed in there along with Dr. Jekyll.

 

 

* * *

 

As soon as they magic into the diner, Jekyll jerkily shoots up from hit seat and makes a mad dash for the door.

 

“Not so fast, buddy.” Emma growls and magics the thing locked. But Jekyll reaches for something inside his shirt and blasts through the door in swirl of dark energy.

 

The Queen makes a move as if to attack him and he laughs, holding the Dark One's dagger out to her as a clear threat that halts her movements. And half of his face just seems to _transform_ before their very eyes, taking on a more angular rough look and turning his right eye _blood_ red.

 

“You selfish _bastard_!" Emma hisses, immediately recognizing the other half of his face. She'd seen him when she'd ran after him  in the forest two weeks ago. "Why would you want to try to separate everyone from their true loves?”

 

The half Dr Jekyll person turns to them with that unnerving manic look as he cackles uncontrollably.

 

“Because people are no good, my dear.” He says, voice too deep to be Jekyll’s. “And true love is a farce that doesn’t even exist in the real world. So I’m doing you all a favor and banning it under _my_ Storybrooke.”

 

"That's fucked up."

 

He hums, toying with the dagger as the town's people packed in Storybrooke stare at them, frozen in place by whatever spell he'd casted. "It's a thoughtful experiment Miss Swan, one that benefits everyone because without true love there wouldn't be true heartbreak." He hisses fiercely. "No...it's a disease that must be eradicated." 

 

"True love is powerful." Emma says and Jekyll cackles.

 

"Only when it's willingly returned, Miss Swan." He hums, staring at their intertwined hands. "Not clearly spurned."

 

Emma grits her teeth as the Queen shifts uneasily at her side. 

 

"That serum wasn't meant to get into the hands of Snow." The Queen says. "But your weaker half gave it to her, probably in defiance."

 

Jekyll's face contorts. "A mild hiccup that righted itself when I found the right combination of ingredients I needed to take his free will away."

 

Emma shakes her head, confused. “If your target wasn’t really Snow then who the hell was it?”

 

She gets promptly ignored. Jekyll brandishes the Dark One’s dagger, waving it carelessly in the air. A gust of wind tore through the street and suddenly the spell in his hands began unfurling into an oozing inky black cloud that literally radiated evil.

 

“Gold.” Emma spits. “He was chasing you in the forest that day! You wanted him out of the way in order to take control of his dagger.”

 

"And because his true love was spurned." The Queen interjects. "Not in the same manner as yours..." The Queen says softly when Emma's hand tightens in hers. "but the love you share with Regina went unacknowledged for a very long time...by the both of you, and it was enough to do the damage it needed."

 

And Emma's struck by the Queen's words. By the way she acknowledges the love between them in such a detached manner and by the way she spoke of Regina as if she wasn't a part of Regina herself. It leaves Emma aching, thumb softly stroking the Queen's hand in hers as those dark eyes stare at her with so much sadness and so much longing that she doesn't know what to do with herself.

 

"Isn't this sweet." Jekyll mocks. "Too bad she's just a mere copy of your precious witch."

 

"Where the hell is the rest of Regina?!" Emma hisses fiercely. The rage within her was reaching blinding levels, driven by her heart and her longing to see Regina whole again. "What the hell did you do to _us_? To Gold?!"

 

“I do so admire your detective skills, Sheriff.” Jekyll snickers condescendingly. "The Dark One is still alive, obviously, I just needed his dagger. But he and the other half of those insipid true love couples are not in this realm." He smiles toothily. "And now you're all going to pay." He snipes as he raises the dagger and unleashes hell in the form of that thick black smoke.

 

"It's another curse." The Queen growls as she immediately starts pouring the rest of her magic at the smoke now surrounding the diner and Emma gasps and immediately feels her own magic rushing out of her body to help.

 

Emma inhales sharply as their magic connects and she almost sobs when she can literally _feel_ something missing. It’s nothing like it used to be, her magic links with the Queen’s, compatible in every manner yet continues traversing along the surface of it and she knows it’s looking for the essence of Regina herself.

 

She forces a tight control over it, stilling its probing as the Queen glances at her with sorrowful eyes that seem to understand just what was off about their connection.

 

“What the hell are we going to do? We can’t keep this up.” The Queen chokes out and Emma’s jaw tightens and she closes her eyes and wills herself to think.

 

They’d hit wall after wall and yet still couldn’t find a solution. Even the dragon had confused her with his barely legibly scrawled message that had found its way to Regina’s fridge that morning.

 

_True love is the most powerful magic of all, one need only to surrender and trust in its power in order to fully bask in its allure._

 

Emma grunts at the magic pressing down against their force field as Jekyll's maniacal laughter rings out in an eerie high pitch noise as the inky blackness of his fully enacted curse blots out the rest of the light from outside, fully consuming Storybrooke.

 

“Give up.” Jekyll goads, practically floating in mid-air at the power crackling along his arms and legs from the curse he’d read. “It’s no use.”

 

And despair seems to hit Emma in waves as she trembles, glances over at the Queen, no, _Regina_ , and can’t believe they’d never even gotten a chance to start.

 

“I’d do things so differently if I ever got the chance.” Emma smiles wetly. “I’d magic that fucking serum to dust and break up with Hook during that first moment when I truly allowed myself to think about my feelings for you and ended up taking on that darkness.”

 

The Queen’s dark eyes sweep over Emma’s face so softly that Emma wants to sob at the tenderness. But Regina abruptly jerks herself out of the moment and presses her lips tightly together.

 

“I’m not her. I didn’t deserve that sacrifice you made.” She says, so softly, so _pained_. Emma truly wants to yell.

 

But the Queen reaches out and links one of her hands with Emma’s, curling their fingers into each other and their magic melds, taking on a pale purple color that _glows_ brightly against the unnatural darkness as Emma’s white magic bleeds into the Queen’s own purple.

 

And Emma smiles and now sort of understands _exactly_ what the dragon meant.

 

“Regina.” She says softly and the Queen hesitantly glances over at her then promptly looks away, not bothering to combat the name as their palms burn against the rush of magic emanating from their joint effort. Emma lets out a deep breath that turns into a pained little groan as the magic crackles outwards from her body and fuses with the Queen’s, protecting everyone in the diner within that tiny bubble that kept giving in as the inky darkness pushed towards it.

 

“Regina.” Emma calls again, shaky and breathless and the Queen looks on over at her fully, eyes soft and tears spilling down her cheeks as she swallows thickly.

 

“Emma.” She says softly, and Emma smiles and takes a deep breath for what she has to say next.

 

“We have to stop.”

 

The Queen shakes her head, brows furrowing as she squeezes Emma’s hand against hers. “Are you crazy?” The Queen hisses. “You’re the Savior. You can’t give up. We can’t give up. These people --” She blanches a little at her words. “Our _son_ needs us. Losing Regina would have been in vain.”

 

“We have to let go.” Emma says and the Queen growls, a fierce sound that makes Emma miss this part of her and her other half so acutely that she can barely breathe.

 

“You’re delusional, Miss Swan. If you think I’m putting our son in danger you’re absolutely certifiable.”

 

And Emma’s eyes spill over with the tears she’s been holding back as she thinks about Regina and her shaky hands threaten to give off the last vestiges of her magic. Henry was huddled against David, repeatedly yelling their names and she took solace in his voice and the Queen's dark sorrowful eyes.

 

“This is the only way to save him _and_ the town.” Emma says quietly and the Queen shakes her head ruefully and can’t quite meet Emma’s eyes as their magic lurches again in a tornado of purple and white that had created that safety dome around them that was steadily becoming smaller and smaller as their magical energies crackled along its surface.

 

Emma could feel it pulling, straining against her sternum and she bites harshly into her lower lip and can’t bare to glance behind her and see David’s guilt stricken face, or believe she was about to risk their son and the entire town’s safety on a whim, on a feeling that linked her to the Queen and Regina so intimately she could feel it radiating in their magic.

 

“I miss you so much, Regina.” Emma says as the Queen’s eyes find hers once more. “All of you.”

 

Dark eyes helplessly bore into Emma’s as their hands shake at the magical force required to prevent Jekyll’s curse from consuming the shaky little diner. The Queen tilts her head, eyes gently sweeping over Emma’s and closing in silent agony as she trembles.

 

“We have to let go.” Emma repeats as she powers down her own magic and nearly drops to her knees when her strength suddenly leaves her. The Queen cries out at the force she’s suddenly being forced to take over and glances down helplessly at Emma who stumbles to her feet, those tiny little welts the whipping force of the wind had created against her skin standing out starkly as blood steadily streams in thin lines from them. And Emma smiles at her, presses their foreheads together and tells her to let go again.

 

Regina whimpers, and Emma feels her heart pulling harshly as the Queen’s magic jerks unsteadily at the curse and the now fully purple dome was beginning to break apart as holes started dotting along its surface where Emma’s magic no longer resided.

 

“Emma.” She cries out again and Emma just kept staring into dark eyes, oblivious to their surroundings as she places both palms against the Queen’s face.

 

“Trust me.” Emma whispers softly and the Queen whimpers and can’t contain the sob that tears from her throat.

 

“I do.” She admits quietly and Emma smiles as the Queen stops resisting against the inky black swirling curse. Her magic dissipates as she wraps her arms around Emma’s waist, pulling their bodies flush together as the curse suddenly springs to life again and bears down upon them.

 

“Good.” Emma whispers softly and the Queen tilts her head and meets her in a kiss that has them both surrendering their souls to each other.

 

The new curse washes over them in a great swirl of black evil pulsing energy and Emma’s made vaguely aware of the pulse of multi-coloured light that leaves their combined lips as she feels the magic blanket them and suddenly the entire place goes dark as she kisses Regina with everything she has _and thinks of home._

 

* * *

Regina’s lying beside her, body caught in Emma’s arms, the subdued light filtering in through the blinds in Regina’s bedroom glowing a gentle hue against sleep warmed skin. And Emma smiles, and can’t believe that just a few hours ago they’d been fussing over breaking the curse when the answer had been right in front of them all along.

 

Dark eyes slowly flutter open and Regina’s head tilts towards her. The look in those eyes is completely unguarded, warm and inviting and Emma finds herself leaning forward as those full lips curve upwards into a beautiful smile.

 

Regina looks incredibly young in this moment with her face devoid of makeup. The light catches her eyes in a completely different way that makes it gleam, a warm liquid amber that burns itself onto Emma’s swooning heart.

 

She cups Regina’s cheek, eyes alight with a flicker of emotions she can feel alighting her senses, body vibrating with a magical thrum she can’t quite contain. She closes her eyes as she leans forward, pressing their lips together.

 

Regina hums, fingers curling around Emma’s wrist, pressing Emma's palm firmly against her own cheek.

 

Emma feels so much lighter, can feel her lungs expanding and her whole world righting and her feelings thrumming along with the undulating waves of magic humming beneath her very skin.

 

And everything _just makes sense_. She breaks the kiss, teeth catching gently on full lips as Regina smiles and presses their foreheads together.

 

“Good morning, Miss Swan.” And the smile on Emma’s peaceful face falls. Her eyes flutter open, cutting the woman a half-hearted glare that somehow amuses Regina enough for her to apparently laugh about it. It’s a husky sort of laugh, warm, soft and sweet like syrupy honey. “Em- _ma_ .” Regina _enunciates_ in that rich husky drawl and Emma’s stomach flips pleasantly. It draws a goofy smile to her lips.

 

“Good morning.” Emma says, coyly brushing their noses together.

 

Regina smiles in response, eyes coolly flickering down to the arms that encase her body before darting back up and catching Emma’s.

 

“Never took you for the cuddly type.”

 

Emma raises an eyebrow. “Never took _you_ for a little spoon.”

 

“I am not a little spoon.” Regina insists, shoving unconvincingly at Emma's arms.

 

“Says the woman practically molded to me.” Emma teases.

 

“You’re the one who trapped me with your abnormally long limbs, _I_ couldn’t escape if I even tried.”

 

“Okay, no, you’re totally ruining my mellow, I did not sign up for this.” Emma whines. “Can we please go back to where you were being obnoxiously cute and I wanted to kiss your face off? I wanna start this morning over.”

 

Regina cocks an eyebrow, a little amused smile playing around her lips. “I’m not sure what exactly I should comment on. The fact that you think I’m cute –”

 

“Obnoxiously cute.” Emma interjects.

 

“Or the part where you wanted to kiss my beautiful face off.”

 

“I didn’t say beautiful, you vain woman.”

 

“It was implied, was it not?”

 

Emma's eyes narrow. “This is a trick question isn’t it? This is how people die.”

 

Regina's utterly unimpressed. “Why are you answering my question with a question?”

 

“It hasn’t been a few hours and you’re already trying to trap me.” Emma whines pitifully.

 

Regina suppresses a smile, hands lightly stroking down Emma's back in a way that makes her want to sink into the warmth of their connection. “I merely asked a simple question.”

 

“Which you already know the answer to.” Emma says, cheeks visibly pinking when she ducks her head to avoid Regina’s gaze. “You know you’re like, crazy beautiful.”

 

And before Regina can even retort to that, Emma changes position, throws a leg over Regina bracketing her thighs and they both sort of freeze, taking in the novelty of the moment.

 

Regina's hands are immediately on her waist, slipping beneath Emma’s oversized tank top, warm and soft against her skin. Emma leans forward, pressing her face against Regina’s collarbone and preens like a puppy being petted just the right way.

 

"Good morning, Emma." Regina smiles, voice husky and soft. It does something to Emma, who snuggles further into her embrace, elated at this new side to their relationship. "Did you sleep well?" She asks, that soft mothering tone making the blonde smile in response.

 

"Best sleep I've had in weeks." Emma admits.

 

“Me too.” Regina agrees, eyes widening when she realizes that they'd woken up together and not apart. “We defeated the curse.”

 

“Mm, we did, just like we always do." Emma says softly, eyes fluttering shut when Regina's arms tighten around her.

 

"I'm so sorry, the Queen." Regina stiffens in her arms. "I..."

 

Emma shakes her head, kisses Regina softly on the lips and looks at her with so much affection she almost can't contain it, especially with the way it just fills her soul and has her magic crackling from her fingers to her toes.

 

"Every part of you deserves to be loved Regina." Emma says and Regina's suddenly all misty eyed, a rebuttal ready on trembling lips that never comes because Emma kisses her again, harder this time, threading fingers through dark hair and anchoring their mouths together. "You do." She says firmly. "The Queen deserves to be _loved_ , and you do."

 

"Emma." Regina says, the name catching in her throat as Emma kisses her jaw, dropping downwards to press several kisses to warm skin that makes her heart squeeze pleasantly in her chest. It’s saying the words without really saying them. But she feels braver now, feels like she can easily utter them, and she does.

 

“And I do.” Emma says quietly. “I love you.”

 

The tears in Regina's shimmery eyes do spill over then and a sob catches in her throat and Emma can see the Queen, soft and brought to her knees by the love Emma could feel lingering in the air between them, writing itself on their hearts and traversing through their magic.

 

Emma’s amazed by the way the words make Regina light up. Regina kisses her, soft and sweetly and too reserved for the intense feelings Emma can feel radiating from her chest.

 

"I love you too." Regina smiles then. It starts as a tentative smile against Emma's lips and suddenly she’s smiling way too much for their lips to stay together. Emma chuckles, thumbs sweeping along the bow of full lips as Regina’s eyes flutter shut. And something shifts within Regina again and she pauses as the rest of the memories of the Queen wash over her. Emma pulls back, eyes sweeping over Regina's face as she grimaces and a second later those dark eyes flutter open, panicked and a little unsettled as she fists Emma's tank top.

 

"You kissed the Queen?" Regina hisses.

 

"And there you are Queenie." Emma grins, affectionately bopping Regina's nose with her own. Regina actually growls. “You do know you’re literally jealous of yourself?”

 

"Shut up, I…” And Regina pauses, eyes going wide. “Dammit your mother's on her way here."

 

"What? Why?"

 

"For reasons previously unknown to me my other half basically broadcasted everything in high definition to the entirety of Storybrooke and The Enchanted Forest.”

 

Emma blinks owlishly at her. "Sorry didn't quite catch that."

 

"Everyone with access to a goddamn mirror was able to see us true love's kiss them back to their own true loves.”

 

"Regina!" Snow hollers, pounding down the front door with a mixture of excitement and curiosity that shook it on its hinges. "Emma Swan, both of you come out here immediately or so help me! The entire town's on your doorstep!”

 

Regina rolls her eyes. Emma groans and buries her head against Regina's neck.

 

" _No no no_." She chants miserably as Regina waves her hand and basically vanishes all the mirrors from the room. Emma lifts her head and grins when Regina smirks up at her. "I do love the way you think."

 

Regina shrugs. "What can I say? I intend to enjoy a hedonistic lifestyle." Emma shifts a little, palms drifting down to olive thighs that spark that lusty fire within dark irises and threaten to burn right through her. "And I do think we'd enjoy each other, _immensely_." Regina purrs and Emma almost yelps when she's tugged forward into a hot open mouthed kiss. Regina's thighs slip up her sides and cross at her back, pressing her heated core into Emma's and Emma moans hotly against satin lips, her entire body shuddering with such want. And she can't believe that she'd ever thought that she didn't want this woman.

 

There's a dull thudding coming from downstairs that manages to snap Emma out of her lust induced haze and she kisses Regina one last time before pulling away.

 

"Ugh, Snow." Emma grimaces and Regina raises an eyebrow.

 

"I'd like to believe that my talents are sufficient enough to keep you from thinking about your mother at a time like this."

 

Emma laughs. "No I mean yes, they are. You know they are." She practically pants against Regina's lips and Regina smirks, satisfied and _oh so smug_. Emma kisses her, slipping her hands up those thighs crossed at her back and groaning when Snow's voice pierces through the house again.

 

Emma waves her hand and suddenly the house is silent.

 

Regina raises an eyebrow, impressed. "Where did you send her?" She asks a little too gleefully, twirling a lock of blonde hair as she looks up at Emma.

 

"I'm not on the devious side, your majesty. I only sent her back to the loft."

 

Regina pouts. Downright _pouts._  It's insanely cute. "That's only fifteen minutes away from here."

 

"I didn't say which loft." Emma smirks and Regina laughs. "This one belongs to August and it's practically on the other side of town."

 

"I underestimated you." Regina says, curling her hands in blonde hair and admiring the light rosy hue that colors Emma's cheeks as she shrugs. “What are we going to do about the others?”

 

Emma sighs heavily as she nuzzles warmly against Regina's temple, pressing a kiss there that the other woman hums at, closing her eyes to savor the moment. “The chaos of the outside world can wait a while.”

 

Regina peaks an eye opened at her, raising a brow. “You plan on keeping me here with your clumsy seduction tactics, Swan?”

 

“Clumsy seems to work on you.” Emma says cheekily leaning forward to brush her nose against Regina's.

 

Regina grins, leans forward to nibble on her lower lip and practically purrs her next few words. “Only when associated with you.”

 

"I should have recorded that. I doubt I'd ever get you to say it again...unless." And Emma grinds down against Regina's heated center in pleasurable promise, earning herself a husky moan that spills from Regina's lips and practically shoots its way between her own thighs. And she really didn't think this fully through cause now Regina's watching her through heavy lidded eyes and she's losing even more of her composure when she rocks into her again and her back practically arches off the bed.

 

"Keep doing that and we'll see what happens." Regina pants and Emma doesn’t think she’s ever smiled so much in one morning as she’s pulled into another of those devastating kisses.

 

They’d deal with everything that came after eventually, Storybrooke could last a few hours without them.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Writers and artists spent months creating the fics and art you enjoy - it would mean the world to them if you commented to tell them what you liked! The SQSupernova team is also sponsoring a contest for commenters, and you can find out more [here](http://sqsupernova.tumblr.com/post/164792441694/announcing-the-sqsn-comments-contest-a-reward-for).


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